




I-' ^ 



£XM4/ 



OP 


y-v** 



I l\e V\./4d r IcL'j s J aVi o n 


1_ o 1^1 CD e R 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Shelf.L.6_., . 

(492 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 






c - 


» 








U 


t 


i 


•f . 


% 









THE GALILEAN 


OR 


JESUS THE WORLD’S SAVIOR 


GEORGE CrLORIMER, D.D. 

II 

Minister at the Temple 


“ This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee ” 

Matthew 

“The world’s ransom, blessed Mary’s son ” 

Shakespeare 



r 





SILVER, BURDETT & COMPANY 

New York BOSTON Chicago 


1892 





Copyright, 1892, 

By silver, BURDETT & CO. 



Typography by J. S. Cushing & Co., Boston. 


Presswork by Berwick & Smith, Boston. 


Aih/y 


^ ILobmg S^ribute 

HUMBLY LAID AT THE FEET OF 

HIM 

WHOSE NAME IS ABOVE EVERY NAME 

NOT ONLY IN THIS WORLD 
BUT IN THAT WHICH IS TO COME 
TO WHOM 

BE BLESSING AND HONOR, AND GLORY AND POWER 
FOREVER AND EVER 


“ To Thee this strain I bring, — 

Be propitious, O my King! 

Take the music which is mine 
Anthemed from the songs Divine.” 

Synesius 


I 


I 






. * 4\*' y -r: ' i 

f m ' . - • ' • 

-“ ■ 

l" _ 

, » ‘ 


y* 




f V 


f 


\ s 


' 'V.S 



' ■* 




t 


INTEODUOTION. 


Tins volume was originally published several years ago. Of late 
it has been out of print, and as demands for it have increased, it is 
once more given to the public. In repreparing and rearranging the 
work for the press, the author by ^revisions and additions has aimed 
to enlarge its scope, and to render it a more complete exposition of the 
great Galilean’s life. The sermon-chapters on the “ Heligion of 
Jesus,” on His “Philanthropy,” on His “ Truth- Spirit,” and on 
His “Anguish” and “Ascension,” are entirely new, and the one 
on the “Future of Jesus,” has been re-written. By these changes, 
the book has been brought into touch with the spirit of the times, 
and with some of the larger questions now agitating them ; and they 
have likewise gone far toward making it a sufficient gnide to the 
broader and more generous orthodoxy of our evangelical churches 
— an orthodoxy that seeks to avoid the narrow literalism of the old 
theology and the diffusive idealism of the new. The writer has not 
attempted to discuss the views of Strauss and Renan on the great 
theme he has here treated, neither has he essayed a formal biography 
of our Savior after the manner of Neander, Geike, or Farrar. His 
humbler aim has been, while seeking to preserve the unity of history, 
to present a series of pictures of the Galilean, and to unfold such 
distinct aspects of His earthly ministry as best may meet the religious 
needs of this generation. 

It has appeared to him that our Lord’s life has usually been drawn 
without much regard to its real bearing on the life of the world ; that 
it has rarely, if ever, been studied with a view to the lessons it con- 
veys for the guidance of the perplexed, and the example it sets for 
the imitation of all classes and conditions of mankind. To confute the 
infidel, to silence the skeptic, or to satisfy the curious, has, with hardly 
an exception, been the object proposed by those who have undertaken 

5 


6 


INTRODUCTION. 


to declare “all that Jesus began both to do and to teach.” Such 
being the case, “ it seemed good ” to the author of this volume, 
“having had some understanding of all things from the very first, 
to write unto thee, in order, most excellent Theophilus” — or, what 
in this instance is the same, most excellent reader — that tbe moral 
and spiritual lessons of Christ’s life might be more clearly discerned, 
and be more highly appreciated. 

The importance of this endeavor will be recognized by all who per- 
ceive the personal grandeur of Jesus, and the relation He sustains to 
the highest interests of the race. He is the source, the supreme and 
ultimate source, of its most sacred hopes, and the only perfect model 
of everything that beautifies it in character and dignifies it m con- 
duct. In the sphere wherein He moves He is absolute, the sole and 
exclusive teacher, and the unparalleled and unmatched exemplar. 
In comparison with Him and with His influence, all other careers, 
even the most saintly, are as trivial and as unavailing as the shadow 
of a cloud falling on sea or mountain. From the window of the room 
where these words are penned the Lake of Lucerne, in all of its trams- 
parent and placid loveliness, is visible, and recalls the part it plays, in 
common with other inland waters, in the physical economy of Europe. 
Michelet states that the glacier floods flow into the lakes of Switzer- 
land, where they are sunned and purified, that they may thus be 
rendered wholesome before they stream forth as rivers on their fertil- 
izing mission. And thus the blessed Christ receives humanity, sin- 
soiled and surcharged with the elements of moral death, and does 
what no other being, even the best, can do, transforms it by contact 
with Himself into His own image, and sends it forth in sacred minis- 
tries of grace and healing. Anything, therefore, that can be done, 
though it may be crude in conception and rude in execution, to bring 
society into close personal relations with the Savior, and to enable it 
to realize more deeply its dependence on Him, not only for redemp- 
tion and sanctification, but for wisdom as well, must prove advan- 
tageous, and may fairly claim the kindest and most lenient judgment 
of the critic. 

In giving this modest volume to the press, the writer desires to 
acknowledge his indebtedness to the various authorities he has quoted, 
and likewise to pray that his readers may be led, by its perusal, to 
take for their motto what he himself has adopted for many years, 
Aut Christus, aut nullus, “either Christ or nobody.” 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER. PAGE 

1. The Portraits of Jesus 9 

II. The Mother of Jesus 25 

III. The Preparation of Jesus 38 

IV. The Harbinger of Jesus 51 

V. The Baptism of Jesus 63 

VI. The Temptation of Jesus 73 

Vn. The Miracles of Jesus 90 

VIII. The Poverty of Jesus 110 

IX. The Followers of Jesus 123 

X. The Religion of Jesus 138 

XI. The Theology of Jesus 158 

XII. The Parables of Jesus 174 

XIII. The Prophecies of Jesus 190 

XIV. The Philanthropy of Jesus ........ 203 

XV. The Transfiguration of Jesus 219 


7 


8 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER. PAGE 

XVI. The Tenderness of Jesus ....... 232 

XVII. The Truth-Spirit of Jesus 246 

XVni. The Anguish of Jesus 263 

XIX. The Betrayal of Jesus 276 

XX. The Trial of Jesus 290 

XXI. The Denial of Jesus 303 

XXII. The Crucifixion of Jesus 316 

XXII I. The Resurrection of Jesus 350 

XXIV. The Ascension of Jesus 370 

XXV. The Messiaiiship of Jesus 390 

XXVI. The Import of Jesus 404 

XXVII. The Future of Jesus . 426 


JESUS THE WORLD’S SAVIOR. 


I. 

POETRAITS OF JESUS. 

To us * * * there is but one Lord Jesus Christ. I Cor. viii, 6. 

Tj^ROUDE’S portrait of Henry VllI differs notably 
-L from those which have been drawn by other English 
historians. There is more of the hero about his king, and 
more that is generally praiseworthy than such writers as 
Hume and Green will allow. Nevertheless, though these 
variations must be apparent to every student, it is impos- 
sible not to recognize in these several descriptions certain 
identical features which indicate clearly that they are de- 
signed to be counterparts of the same original. This is 
likewise true of the pictures which have been painted of 
the great Napoleon. That of Scott does not correspond 
exactly with that of Abbott, and that of Abbott does not 
fully agree with that of Mme. de Remusat. The first sees 
him as an unscrupulous despot; the second, as a generous, 
victorious soldier; and the third, as a petulant and arro- 
gant husband. Scott looks at him mainly in the cabinet, 
Abbott views him almost entirely in the field, and De 
Remusat in the home. Yet, notwithstanding the evident 
onesidedness of their respective conceptions, there are still 
such resemblances preserved that we cannot fail to see in 
them the same historic personage, and, perhaps, cannot 
fail to feel that their exaggerations of particular char- 
acteristics aid us to a complete comprehension of the man 


10 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


as he was. The painting that portrays Napoleon’s corona- 
tion is very unlike that which exhibits him at Waterloo, 
and the representation of the ruined general on that 
decisive battle-ground is different from that which reveals 
him dying in exile; but in all we trace the same counte- 
nance, whether lit and radiant with the consciousness of 
power, or shaded and darkened with the sense of defeat, 
or elevated and beautified by the approach of death. 

Speaking of paintings, I am reminded that Schlegel, in 
his Esthetics, with nice discrimination points out how 
variously the art-masters have treated the form and face of 
Jesus. He shows that the Christ of Bellini, at Berlin, is 
more severe, more sublime and Godlike, than that of Fra 
Bartolomeo at Paris; and that of Titian is more symbolic 
and suggestive of deeper mysteries, such as the Trinity, 
than either of the others; while that of Correggio sur- 
passes them all in spiritual depth and beauty. But, 
though the “Christ Teaching” of Bellini, and the “Christ 
Blessing” of Titian, and the “Christ Taken from the 
Cross” of Correggio, are easily distinguishable from each 
other, they are united by common endeavors to bring out 
the moral grandeur, the suffering greatness, the infinite 
tenderness of the original. The artists carry into their 
work their own impressions of His wonderful nature; 
they color it with their own peculiar sentiments, and mark 
it with the imprint of their own genius; and yet, though 
their pictures betray their individuality, we discover in 
them all such evidences of fidelity to what is known of 
Christ that they alike reveal Him to our reverent faith 
and adoring love. 

Each of the four Gospels contains a portrait of Jesus. 
On this account Goethe regarded them as thoroughly 
genuine and divine; and on this account Rousseau ex- 
claimed: “How petty are the books of the philosophers, 
with all their pomp, compared with the Gospels!” They 


THE TRIPLE TRADITION. 


11 


thus felt, because these writings reflect “the splendor of a 
sublimity proceeding from the person of Him,” who, as 
Jean Paul Richter expresses it, “Being the holiest among 
the mighty, and the mightiest among the holy, lifted with 
His pierced hand empires off their hinges, and turned the 
stream of centuries out of its channel, and still governs 
the ages.” Unfortunately, all men have not sympathized 
with these views, and pronounced unbelievers have done 
all in their power to throw discredit on the descriptions 
given of Jesus in the Gospels. Some among them have 
tried to prove that the Jesus of the New Testament is a 
fiction — an attempt to combine in one ideal the character- 
istics of two different personages who bore the same name, 
but who moved in widely opposite spheres, and who are 
alluded to as separate individuals by Josephus. (See The 
Jesus of History by Solomon.) Others have argued that 
the books bearing the names of the evangelists give inter- 
nal evidence — at least three of them, usually called the 
Triple Tradition — of being copies, more or less exact, of 
one original document, and hence, partly in support of this 
theory, but mainly to lessen the force of their evidence, 
they have claimed, in common with the author of Super- 
natural Religion^ that the Gospel according to Luke 
appeared 170 a.d. ; that of Mark, 175 a.d. ; that of John, 
178 A.D. ; and that of Matthew, 180 a.d.; and others have 
insisted that the likenesses themselves are open to serious 
criticism, as they lack unity and identity of spiritual phys- 
iognomy, and, consequently, suggest that their authors are 
more indebted to their imagination for the image they em- 
body than to an actual, historical personage. But, though 
these objections are vehemently urged, and with great par- 
ade of scholarship, by infidel writers and lecturers, I do not 
think them sufficiently weighty, resting, as they do, on the 
slimmest of foundations, to occasion Christian people anxi- 
ety or alarm ; nor would I have referred to them in this 


12 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


connection were it not that their consideration is necessar- 
ily involved in any fair discussion of the sources from 
which we derive reliable information concerning Christ. 
These sources I desire in this discourse briefly to present, 
and, in seeking to give an adequate idea of their trust- 
worthiness, I am compelled to notice the charges alleged 
against them; but, however unpleasant in some respects 
this task may be, I hope that its performance may help 
the most skeptical among us to believe that in the Gospels 
we have authentic pictures of our Lord. 

Ernest Renan, whose antagonism to Christianity is 
undisguised, is far from sympathizing with those who 
disparage the documents which account for its origin. 
Though he rejects what he regards as legendary in them, 
he concedes their historical value, ‘‘since they carry us 
back to the half-century following the death of Jesus, and 
even, in two cases, to eye-witnesses of His acts.” He 
believes that Luke wrote soon after the destruction of 
Jerusalem; that Matthew wrote at even an earlier date; 
and that, in substance, the fourth Gospel was published 
toward the end of the first century. • (^Introduction to 
Life of Jesus.) This is important testimony coming from 
such a witness, and it is fully confirmed by English, Ger- 
man, and American critics, such as Westcott, Sanday, 
Abbott, Bleek, Keim, and Hilgenfeld, who agree with our 
own Prof. Ezra Abbott, of Harvard, in the conclusion that 
the four Gospels were in use during the times of Justin 
Martyr — that is, not later than 147 a.d., some twenty- 
three years earlier than the book entitled Supernaturcd 
Religion assigns to their origin. The evidence on this 
point is quite decisive; and the inference from it is that 
the writings must have been comparatively well authenti- 
cated for them to have been employed as authorities; and 
as they were so appealed to in the early portion of the 
second century, they must certainly have appeared in the 


VARIOUS ART SCHOOLS. 


13 


latter part of the first. Personally, I believe with Hitzig, 
that Mark wrote 55-57 a.d. ; with Hertwig, that Matthew 
wrote before the siege of Jerusalem, about 60 a.d.; with 
Godet, that Luke wrote not far from the same period — 
perhaps six or ten years later; and, as it is admitted that 
John died near the year 100 a.d., I concur with Abbott in 
ascribing his Gospel to an earlier date. From these 
figures it will be inferred that I am not in sympathy with 
the theory that regards the first three books of the canon 
as transcripts of a yet older document. I certainly am not 
a convert to this view, though it is advocated by some 
able men; because the occasional identity of phraseology, 
upon which it is based, and which cannot be denied, is not 
sufficiently decisive to prove that the evangelists were 
merely copyists; neither can it offset the marks of inde- 
pendent authorship which their productions reveal. They 
seem rather to have studied for themselves one original, 
and that not a document, but a person, and to have 
recorded their own impressions and the results of their 
own observations, and to have done it freely from their 
peculiar point of view, and in harmony with their personal 
idiosyncrasies. 

This explains why we have four portraits, and why, in 
some respects, they are dissimilar; why one picture brings 
out features that seem obscure in the others, and why one 
brings into the light characteristics which the others leave 
in the shadow. Freidrich von Schlegel reminds us that 
artists are distinguished from each other by striking differ- 
ences of manner. He calls Correggio a musical painter, 
because of his attention to harmony; he speaks likewise of 
a sculpturesque style, and of an architectural style; and he 
says that Holbein is stiff, because he reproduces nature 
unimaginatively, while Titian, true to details, yet invests 
his composition with an ideal grace. Leonardo Da Vinci 
is famous for the correctness of his outlines, and for his 


14 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


ability to embody the peculiar traits of character which 
marked the people whom he painted. Raphael delineates 
with more poetic grandeur than others; Michael Angelo, 
with greater massiveness; and Albert Diirer with greater 
mysteriousness. We also have realistic artists, and sensa- 
tionalists, and Whistler has been called, I believe, ‘‘ an im- 
pressionist” — terms which denote some predominant and 
specific type which gives distinctness to their work. That 
is, painters paint themselves in their pictures, inject their 
warm or cold sentiments into their colors, impart their 
wealth of knowledge to their conceptions, and the glow of 
their genius to the creations of their hands. While faithful 
to nature, if they are sincere, they are also faithful to 
themselves. While they reproduce accurately what they 
see, it is as they see it, and as they feel it; and while they 
adhere rigidly to the model they copy, they transfer to the 
copy the fair ideals which the model itself has awakened 
in their souls. 

These thoughts, without impropriety, if not with abso- 
lute exactness, may be applied to the evangelists. We 
hold, in common with the orthodox Christian world, that 
they were inspired of God to write the Gospels. What 
the precise measure of inspiration was which they enjoyed, 
the Church knows not, and is even in doubt regarding its 
essential nature; but that they were led and influenced by 
the Eternal Spirit in their work she is confident, and that 
they were permitted the free exercise of their faculties, 
while under this Divine superintendence, is her growing 
conviction; that is, without rigidly defining it, she holds 
to an inspiration that leaves unimpaired the individuality 
of its recipient; and that she is warranted in making this 
distinction is evinced by the writings of the evangelists 
themselves. The more we examine them, the more we find 
them separated by peculiarities of style and by methods of 
treatment, which indicate that their authors approached 


FREEDOM AND INSPIRATION. 


15 


their common theme from a personal standpoint, investi- 
gated it independently, and recorded their impressions in 
their own way. For instance, Mark’s Gospel is very differ- 
ent from the others. Its Greek is comparatively rude and 
at times unmusical; its manner is abrupt and sharp, and its 
narrative is frequently detached and hurried. It is the 
production of a mind not given to care for detail or for 
rhetorical embellishment, and still less for theological spec- 
ulations. Mark introduces Christ suddenly to his readers, 
gives no account of His birth, says little if anything of His 
relation to the Jewish law, pays only slight attention to 
, His discourses, and records none of the longer ones, and 
does not even dwell on His resurrection at length. His 
Jesus is a being more of deeds than of words, a being in- 
vested with strange and miraculous energy, the nature of 
which he does not take pains to explain, and a being whose 
attitude toward the race is that, of a servant intent on min- 
istering to its spiritual well-being. (See Four Gospels 
by Jukes.) Mark may be compared to Holbein among 
painters, on account of his stiffness of style and his unim- 
aginativeness, and to Whistler on account of his reliance 
on contrasts for designed effects; and he may be set down 
as the prince of synoptics, and, perhaps, as the only true 
one among the evangelists; for he, more than the others, 
merely relates incidents in the life of our Lord, and is not 
always careful to preserve their true chronological order. 

In other terms must we speak of Matthew. He is more 
somber than Luke, more connected than Mark, and less 
theological than John. His language is generally excel- 
lent, his style approximates to stateliness, and his narra- 
tive partakes of the unity which is proper to biography. 
He records the genealogy of Jesus, details the circumstan- 
ces of His birth, reports very fully His discourses, and 
follows Him through all the events of His career until He 
finally parts with His disciples, after the resurrection. His 


16 


JESUS THE WORLD S SAVIOR. 


Jesus is essentially Jewish and essentially regal. He rep- 
resent® Him as related to the law as its exponent and ful- 
fillment, and as related to the promise given to Abraham, 
being its heir and its substance. He regards him through- 
out as a King, invests Him with all authority in heaven 
and on earth, and describes Him as revealing, as bringing 
near, or establishing the Kingdom of Heaven, a form of 
speech occurring some thirty times in his Gospel. If Mark 
may be likened to Holbein, Matthew may be compared to 
Leonardo on account of his power to embody personal 
peculiarities, and to Angelo on account of his grandeur. 
He is preeminently the biographer of Jesus, and he repro- 
duces the moral magnitudes of his hero with a hand as 
bold and a manner as massive as ever distinguished the 
genius of Michael Angelo. 

The third evangelist seems to belong to a different 
school. He is more artistic, poetic, and esthetic than his 
colleagues. Luke’s Gospel gives evidence of having been 
written by an educated man. As a composition it is chaste 
and elegant; it is also exceedingly diversified, ranging in 
style from the simple story of Bethany to the stately 
measure of the Magnificat; and it is at times highly colored, 
the scenes it portrays being wrought up vividly and dra- 
matically. Instances of this latter grace we have in the 
narrative of the nativity, the parable of the Good Samari- 
tan, and the pictures of the Prodigal Son and of Dives and 
Lazarus. The Jesus Luke paints is more a friend than a 
servant, more a brother to humanity than a ruler, more a 
man than a Jew. He makes the angels herald the coming 
of peace to the earth with His advent; he sings of “good 
will” to man; he reveals his hero as unprejudiced enough 
to commend an alien’s faith, and as disregarding the absurd 
restraints imposed on women by ignorance and tyranny. 
His Christ is free from the limitations that appear in Mat- 
thew, and His sympathies with the world are more mani- 


THE FOURTH GOSPEL. 


17 


fest; and there is a refinement and gentleness in His bearing 
which the preceding writers fail to produce as perfectly. 
Luke is essentially an artist, and may be classed with 
Raphael and Correggio among painters on account of his 
poetic temperament and the harmonious grandeur of his 
delineations. But John is of another spirit. He is more 
like Albert Dilrer than Correggio. He is mystical, tran- 
scendental, theological. His Christ is from the first a Divine 
incarnation, concerning whom it is more important to 
know that He is the Son of God than that He is the Son 
of Mary. He is a Being on the earth, but not of the earth, 
moving about in heavenly fellowships, angels descending 
and ascending on Him, and voices of the Eternal guiding 
and comforting Him. The servant of Mark’s Gospel that 
rises to kingship in Matthew’s, and the king of Matthew’s 
Gospel that attains to the higher rank of brother in Luke’s, 
here transcends all human limitations, and appears in alli- 
ance with God. If Mark paints in outline, and if Matthew 
boldly defines the foreground, and if Luke touches all with 
light and beauty, verily John works up the background, 
which, like the sea and horizon in the pictures of Leonardo, 
stretches toward the limitless, and is lost in the infinite. 

It is the theory of Ewald and of other learned men that 
John’s Gospel was designed to supplement and complete 
the other three, and that it was written to expose the 
errors of those Jews who looked upon Jesus merely as the 
greatest of the prophets, and denied the superhuman in 
his character, and to counteract the errors of those among 
the Gentiles who viewed Him as in some sense divine, 
while they resolved His humanity into a mere appearance 
and illusion. Whether the theory is worthy of confidence 
I shall not undertake to determine, but that John’s Gospel 
is really fitted to serve these ends every person familiar with 
its contents will admit. At the very outset its author insists 
on the real humanity and the real divinity of the Savior. 

3 


18 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


Not only does he declare that the Word was God, but 
that the Word was made flesh and dwelt with man. He 
passes as comparatively unimportant the account of His 
nativity; he rises above the stable and the manger to the 
throne, and startles his readers with the announcement 
which, for sublimity, is only equalled by that which intro- 
duces the history of creation: “In the beginning was the 
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was 
God.” Never, throughout the whole of his testimony, does 
he deviate from this primary assumption. He reveals Him 
as sustaining an altogether singular and exceptional rela- 
tion to the Infinite Father, and represents Him as laying 
stress upon it in His teachings. He reports that Jesus 
horrified the Jews by claiming to be one with the Father, 
so that the Father is in Him and He in the Father; and he 
gives an account of His prayer in which He sought a return 
to the glory which He had with the Father before the world 
was. Mingling with this supreme conception are the most 
beautiful allusions to His humanity. His kindness to 
Nathaniel, His genial approval of the marriage festivities 
at Cana, His brotherly sympathy with Mary and Martha, 
His interview with Nicodemus, and His compassion toward 
the woman of Samaria, display fine touches of a nature 
identical with our own. He is thus seen to be one with 
us, as He is one with the Father. The human and the 
divine, like two planets, are in conjunction in Him, and 
shed upon the world a blended light. 

In setting forth what this mysterious Being is in Him- 
self, John does not fail to magnify what He is to the race. 
According to his representations. He is something more 
than a rabbi, though He was the wisest that ever taught; 
more than a prophet, though eminently gifted with the 
vision of the seer; more than a law-giver, and more by far 
than a reformer. Nothing less is He than the very 
“bread of life;” “the living water,” which prevents all 


THE LAMB OF GOD. 


19 


future soul-thirst; ‘‘the true vine,” from whose root and 
stem His disciples draw their spiritual vitality; “the 
good Shepherd,” and the very “ door ” itself, by which the 
wandering sheep enter into the fold of eternal rest; “the 
Way, the Truth, and the Life,” “the Light of life,” and 
the “ Resurrection and the Life,” through whom and by 
whom the ignorant and the guilty may attain to knowl- 
edge, purity and everlasting felicity. All this is He, 
according to John, and, in addition. He is “the Lamb of 
God who taketh away the sin of the world.” In these 
words His relation to the world’s guilt and misery is dis- 
closed. They carry us back to the history of sacrifices, to 
the place they have occupied in all the religions of the 
past, and to their singular influence upon the nations. 
They impart meaning to the ritual of ancient Israel, and 
explain the mystery of its termination. As we read them 
we begin to apprehend the truth that the bloody offerings 
and priestly intercessions of other and more venerable 
systems pointed to an atonement for sin, demanded by the 
moral exigencies of mankind, which should underlie Chris- 
tianity, and which would render the continuance of an 
elaborate ritual superfluous. As all other lights are 
dimmed and are rendered unnecessary by the superior 
luster of the sun, so ceremonial intimations and scenic 
representations of expiation become colorless and useless 
in presence of the great reality which they herald. Our 
Lord, therefore, is the substance and completion of ancient 
sacrifices. They are alike fulfilled and abrogated in Him, 
and, in consequence. He is more than teacher or prophet; 
He is supremely the world’s Savior. 

This is John’s ideal, an ideal in which the other evangel- 
ists share, though it must be admitted that it is not as 
clear in their writings as in his. At times they approach 
it, grope toward it, seem indeed to grasp it, and give 
expression to thoughts that are inexplicable apart from it. 


20 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


and yet they fail to present it as completely and as consist- 
ently as John. It is the distinction of the fourth evan- 
gelist that he carries the intimations of the others to their 
legitimate results, perfects their conceptions, develops their 
ideas and combines them, blending them with what he him- 
self knows of Jesus, into an all-inclusive, harmonious, and 
more finished picture of His character and work. 

And as he seems to comprehend Him more fully than 
his brother evangelists, so does he seem to penetrate more 
deeply than they into the animating spirit of our Savior’s 
mission. He lifts up his eyes and reads on all things 
above him “ love,” he looks on everything around him and 
echoes “love;” and meditates on Him from whose wis- 
dom and power all things sprang, and devoutly answers 
“ love.” To him love is the key that unlocks the riddle of 
the universe, the clue that unravels the mystery of life, 
the explanation that glorifies the Gospel and that imparts 
to it its power. This term exhausts the whole of his the- 
ology, for “God is love;” it sums up his views of human 
duty, for we should “love one another;” and it expresses 
the entirety of his knowledge regarding Christ, “ for God 
so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, 
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but 
have everlasting life.” Not only his theology, but his 
sociology and soteriology are comprehended in love. To 
think of God aright we must think of love; to discharge 
the obligations of life aright we must embody love; to 
govern society aright we must organize love, and to 
understand Jesus aright we must fathom love. God 
is love in its essence, reigning absolute; Christ is love 
incarnate, obeying, suffering; and His disciples are love 
in its efflorescence and beauty. To this spirit, not to jus- 
tice, wrath or vengeance, does he ascribe the advent of 
our Lord. He came because He loved. He was given be- 
cause God loved, and he came and was given that men 


THE HOMERIC METHOD. 


21 


might love Him and the Father and each other. And if 
there is anything in the universe capable of quickening 
the better and higher qualities of humanity, of transform- 
ing its sin-cursed nature and of awakening its purest and 
loftiest ambition, it must be a love that bears with its in- 
firmities, atones for its guilt, and sympathizes with its 
sorrow. Such is the love of Jesus, and whenever it is 
apprehended in its length and its breadth, and in its 
height and its depth, it must renew our fallen race in its 
own image, and crown it with its own glory. 

But is it true that we have in these portraits four repre- 
sentations of the same character? This, at least, is their 
claim — a claim that is established by the resemblance 
which their apparent differences cannot hide. They alike 
reveal an innocent, blameless, sympathetic Being, of super- 
natural powers and of benevolent purpose, who asserts His 
right to forgive sins, who seeks the salvation of the world 
through His own self-abnegation and sufferings, and who, 
at last, rises triumphant over death and the grave. They 
all agree in these particulars. One writer may express 
these things abstractly, may anatomize the essential 
nature of the Being he describes, and formulate for us the 
impressions we should receive of His gracious offices; 
while another may do the same concretely, may place this 
hero in action, and leave the deeds He performs, and the 
influence He exerts to tell their own story. According to 
Lessing, this latter was the method of Homer. This old 
poet gives us no elaborate analysis of Helen’s beauty, no 
fulsome exposition of her charms, but leaves his readers 
to form an idea of what she was by what she caused; and, 
when they see the gray-haired warriors overwhelmed by 
her presence, and trace the Trojan war to its origin in her 
abduction by Paris, they can infer for themselves her per- 
sonal loveliness. And this method more or less distin- 
guished the evangelists — with the exception of John. 


22 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


Three of them at least present Jesus, living, speaking, act- 
ing, and we hardly need the doctrinal statements of the 
fourth to convince us of His superhuman nature and ori- 
gin; for these are manifest in what He does, and in the 
moral convulsions which He occasions, and are made even 
more manifest by the course of the world’s history since 
His ascension, which at every stage has felt His molding 
influence. But whether in this way or some other, the 
portraits drawn by the evangelists are likenesses of the one 
Christ. The marks of identity are too manifold for any 
reasonable uncertainty to be entertained; and, as Nean- 
der has shown in answer to Strauss, the ‘perfection they 
delineate is so dift'erent from what passed as perfection in 
their day, and is so contrary to their own characters, that 
it must have been embodied before their eyes for them 
to have painted it at all. The Christ they pictured could 
not have been a creation of their imagination, a fiction — 
for four men so differently constituted would hardly have 
invented the same ideal of perfection — and, if not a 
fiction, then He was historically real, and, if real. He has 
unsurpassed claims on our attention and gratitude. What 
Cardinal Wiseman states so forcibly may well be repeated 
here, as it has been by others when studying the testi- 
mony of the evangelists: ‘‘We have in the writings of 
the rabbins ample materials wherewith to construct the 
model of a perfect Jewish teacher, we have the sayings 
and the actions of Hiliel and Gamaliel, and Rabbi Samuel, 
all perhaps, in great part imaginary, but all bearing the 
impress of national ideas, all formed upon one rule of 
imaginary perfection. Yet nothing can be more widely 
apart from their thoughts and principles and actions and 
character, and those of our Redeemer. Lovers of 
wrangling controversy, proposers of captious paradoxes, 
jealous upholders of their nation’s exclusive privileges, 
zealous uncompromising sticklers for the least comma of 


CHRIST IN THE HEART. 


23 


the law, and most sophistical departers from its spirit; 
such mostly are these great men, the exact counterpart 
and reflections of those scribes and Pharisees who are so 
uncompromisingly reproved as the very contradiction of 
gospel principles. How comes it that men, not even 
learned, contrived to present a character every way 
departing from their national type, at variance with all 
those features which custom, and education, and patriot- 
ism, and religion, and nature, seemed to have consecrated 
as of all most beautiful ? ” * * * The evangelists 

must have copied this living model which they represent; 
and the accordance of the moral features which they give 
Him can only proceed from the accuracy with which they 
have respectively drawn Him.” In the same direction, 
Weiss writes: “ This cannot be mere human invention; this 
Jesus must have actually lived in all essential particulars 
as He is here reported to have done. For that the mind 
of sinful beings should conceive even the general notion 
of such a man, would be a miracle; while that such a 
notion should be carried out with such vividness by 
authors who were, at all events, originally uneducated, 
and at first independent of each other, would have been, 
unless this man had really lived, and had been seen by 
them, not merely a miracle, but an impossibility.” 

The Christ of the Gospel, beloved, should be the Christ 
of our hearts. God hath “predestinated us to be con- 
formed to the image of His Son.” But we may learn 
from this study that, while his image may be substantially 
the same in each soul, its expression will vary with each 
life. His manifestation in us will be largely determined 
by our temperament and personal peculiarities. Some 
Christians are dry, sharp and angular, like Mark; others 
are stately, systematic and practical, like Matthew; others 
are sentimental, poetic and esthetic, like Luke; and others 
still are mystical, speculative and theological, like John. 


24 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


There is room for them all. The brother whose religion 
has something of the business temper in it, and he who 
yields more to his feelings and fancies, and he who is 
absorbed in dreamy abstractions and reveries, have all 
their place, can all be useful, can illustrate the Christ that 
is in them, and their variety of views may even win others 
to His service. But this, of course, will be impossible, 
unless Christ is really enshrined in the soul. It is, there- 
fore, the first duty of the preacher to incline his hearers 
to welcome the Redeemer as the indwelling source of their 
moral life. He must not be so very anxious about their 
uniformity in testimony; for that will be determined by 
conditions beyond his control. That he may leave to care 
for itself, and should concentrate his powers on the vital and 
indispensable. This is my aim in the course of sermons 
which I propose, and of which this is the first. I desire 
to aid you in studying Jesus, to help you attain a deeper 
and more thorough knowledge of His character and mis- 
sion, that you may accept Him as your Savior, may follow 
Him as your guide, and may be finally assimilated to His 
spiritual nature. And if, as the result of these endeavors, 
I may be permitted to see Him reproduced in your conduct 
so that you shall be, as you ought to be, living gospels of 
His grace, however the readings may be varied by philos- 
ophy, sentiment, or hard practicalities, I shall rejoice; for 
the light of His image, streaming through your words and 
your deeds, shall add new luster to His glory, and shall 
gently fall with healing loveliness on our sin-smitten and 
sin-saddened world. 


THE MOTHER OF JESUS. 


Blessed art thou among women . — Luke 28 . 

“ ‘ O, Lady of the passions, dost thou weep ? 

What help can we then through our tears survey. 
If such as thou a cause for wailing keep ? 

What help, what hope, for us, sweet Lady, say ? ’ 

‘ Good man, it doth befit thine heart to lay 
More courage next it, having seen me so. 

All other hearts find other balm to day — 

The whole world's consolation is my woe ” 


Gregory Nazianzen. 

{Mrs. Browning's translation.') 



N the southern slopes of Lebanon the little city of 


V-/ Nazareth, with its terraced streets, its low, flat- 
roofed houses, and its radiant flower gardens, adorned 
with fig trees, olives, and luxuriant vines, slumbers grace- 
fully in a nest of hills. From the highest elevation of this 
rugged amphitheater, the rock from which our Savior’s 
exasperated countrymen would have cast Him down, a 
magnificent view is obtained of snow-crowned Hermon to 
the north, of Carmel and the Mediterranean to the west, 
of Mount Tabor toward the east, and of the wide-sweep- 
ing and once fertile plains of Esdraelon to the south. In 
this well guarded town, where the air is pure and bracing 
from the mountain winds, and fragrant from the breath of 
plants, and musical from the song of birds, and where, if 
anywhere, traces of Eden’s faded glory survive in Nature’s 
loveliness, the sacred narrative begins. There, according 
to Luke, lived Mary, whom tradition regards as the 
daughter of Joachim, a Galilean, and of Anna, a native 


26 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


of Bethlehem, who in their old age, it is said, received 
her as a gift of the Lord, and to whose service they dedi- 
cated her in return. This religious consecration, however, 
did not prevent an honest suitor, a devout and excellent, 
though commonplace, man by the name of Joseph, from 
seeking and gaining a place in her affections. When she 
is first introduced to us by the inspired annalist, it is as 
the betrothed of the carpenter-lover, whose wdfe she was 
soon to be in fact, as she already was in law. But while 
waiting the hour that was to mark her departure from the 
parental roof, an event occurred which changed the cur- 
rent of her thoughts, and invested her character with 
peculiar sanctity. It was announced to her by the angel 
Gabriel that she was the chosen of God to be the Virgin- 
Mother of the promised Messiah, an honor which the 
women of Israel greatly coveted, and which she meekly 
accepted, though it exposed her naturally to unjust sus- 
picions and to many bitter reproaches. The angel did 
not fail to shield her from the scorn and coldness of her 
husband; neither did Providence, in the accomplishment 
of its designs, neglect by various miraculous signs to 
assert her innocence and purity. Compelled by the decree 
of Augustus providing for a census of the Roman Empire, 
undoubtedly with a view to taxation, — a decree whose 
historical authenticity has been vindicated by Neander, — 
to make the three days’ journey to Bethlehem of Judea, 
Mary, with Joseph, set out, and, worn and weary, arrived 
safely at her destination. And there, in that little town, 
six miles south of Jerusalem, famous as the birth-place of 
David, and centuries after celebrated as the natal spot of 
Jerome’s Latin version of the Scriptures; there, in the 
humble town, near the barley fields of Boaz, whose ancient 
name signified a house of bread,” was the second David, 
the Heavenly Word, the living and imperishable Bread, 
born to bless and save mankind, while angels, principal!- 


THE NATIVITY. 


27 


ties and powers heralded His approach with such songs 
and messages as awakened hope through all the earth, and 
drowned in holy melody every base insinuation that had 
grieved the sensitive heart of the maiden-mother. 

To a mind not deeply imbued with Christian doctrine, 
the marvelous element in this story must seriously impair 
its credibility. Taken by itself, and viewed in the light 
of what we know of nature’s operations, it can hardly be 
otherwise regarded than as improbable. However indis- 
posed a critic may be to repeat the coarse charges of The 
Toldoth Jesu^ as Voltaire did, he will still feel that he cannot 
accept the apostolic explanation without doing violence to 
his reason. In this dilemma he will be found inventing 
all kinds of amiable fictions to exonerate the Virgin and 
to preserve the self-respect of his intellect. I shall not 
attempt to estimate fully the value of such endeavors, but 
merely sugge.st that they are of doubtful advantage, as 
they necessarily challenge the accuracy of the Gospel nar- 
rative, and undermine our confidence in its general trust- 
worthiness. The true course to be pursued, in my opinion, 
is neither to ignore the protest of reason, nor to tamper 
with the representation of revelation. Final judgment 
should be suspended. It is evident that the testimony of 
two or three men can hardly be accepted as sufficient to 
prove the reality of that which is contradicted by the ex- 
perience of the race, unless we are previously persuaded 
of their inspiration; and as to assume that is practically 
to beg the question in debate, the proof must be made 
out in some other way. As I have said, final judgment 
must be reserved. Instead of scrutinizing the character 
of the witnesses, we must rather scrutinize the Being to 
whom they witness. We must study Him closely; we 
must try to classify Him with those whose likeness He 
bears; and, if these investigations shall lead us to assign 
to Him a rank unequaled on earth and unsurpassed in 


28 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


heaven, we shall be warranted in believing the story of 
His extraordinary birth. A marvelous Being may well 
have entered the world in a marvelous manner. If, for 
instance, the doctrine of the incarnation is true, if Divinity 
was enfolded in humanity, then reason itself will allow 
that there is nothing incredible in the miraculous concep- 
tion. The greater wonder necessarily diminishes the pro- 
portions of the lesser, and, in comparison, the latter almost 
descends to the level of commonplace. 

Referring, then, the decision of this momentous ques- 
tion to a later discussion in this sermon-series, let us con- 
tinue our study of Jesus’ mother; that we may measure 
her probable influence on His career, and that we may 
derive from her example some lessons applicable to woman 
in her maternal relations, and in those which she sustains 
to the purity and progress of Christianity. 

Men of genius and piety seem never to weary of at- 
tributing to a mother’s inspiration the excellency they 
achieve and the triumphs they win. Painters and poets, 
statesmen and soldiers, heroes and saints, delight in crown- 
ing with their victorious wreaths the fair brow of her at 
whose feet they played. Augustine, Chrysostom, Basil, 
Theodoret, Constantine, and many others prominent in the 
earlier history of the Church, were trained to greatness by 
the gentle sway of those who had guided their infant 
steps; and, in times more recent, the Washingtons, the 
Napoleons, the Garfields, and hosts of the noblest among 
the noble, have thankful^ acknowledged their indebted- 
ness to the same loving power. Is it not, then, more than 
likely, that Jesus also was influenced by His mother, and 
that His character was in some degree affected by her 
own? We are told that He was subject unto her; we 
know that the formative period of His life was spent 
almost exclusively in her society, her husband dying, ac- 
cording to tradition, soon after her Son had passed His 


POWER OF MOTHERHOOD. 


29 


twelfth year; and we may be certain, if, as we are assured 
by the sacred writers was the case. He accepted the condi- 
tions of human growth, that such intimacy could not exist 
without leaving a permanent impression on His mind and 
heart. I am not, however, acquainted with any author 
who has taken as fully into account this motherly influence 
in his estimate of Jesus as he should, the friends of His 
Divinity apparently fearing that too many concessions on 
this point might be construed adversely to their favorite 
dogma, and the adherents of His mere creaturehood sin- 
gularly overlooking its importance. These fears are ground- 
less; for, surely, if being born of a woman is compatible 
with His alleged Divinity, being nurtured and developed 
by a woman cannot reasonably be regarded as inconsistent 
with it; and they certainly are useless, for they will not 
prevent critical minds, when seeking to solve the problem 
of Christ’s spiritual greatness, from exhausting the natural 
before they appeal to the supernatural. 

In determining how far Mary may be credited with what 
Jesus was and with what He did, we must familiarize our- 
selves with what Mary was herself, and likewise with what 
she did. And here we are liable to be misled by the 
legends which surround her, and by the pictures which 
idealize and exalt her. The first, we know, are utterly 
worthless, bearing on their front the mark of pious men- 
dacity, having no other warrant than the authority of 
superstitious and designing priests; and the second has no 
other foundation than the free fancy of mediseval painters. 
Romanism has exalted the Virgin to a position in the Church 
and Heaven hardly inferior, if not superior, to that ascribed 
to her Son; has declared her absolute sinlessness from the 
womb; has organized in her honor an elaborate worship, 
and has reared to her name more altars than are dedicated 
in its sacred temples to the Godhead; and it has cultivated 
the belief that she visibly reveals herself to the eyes of 


30 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


the faithful, while her less merciful Son veils Himself from 
sight in the splendid obscurities of eternity. To these 
ecclesiastical fictions art unfortunately has lent itself, and 
has done much by its brilliant triumphs to give them cur- 
rency. Schlegel informs us that Garofalo’s Madonna olfers 
a most perfect ideal of serious Divinity. That is, his pic- 
ture is devoted to the actualization of the Romish concep- 
tion. Those of us who have seen Raphael’s magnificent 
composition at Dresden, in which the Virgin Mother hovers 
in the clouds, must have been impressed by the godlike 
sublimity of her countenance and the mysterious stateli- 
ness of her manner. Likewise, in the famous “Madonna 
di Foligno” by the same artist, she is surrounded with the 
nimbus, and appears to be wholly a creature of celestial 
origin; and Dilrer, in his great painting on the same sub- 
ject, preserved in the Dresden gallery, exalts the Virgin 
above the earth, places the moon beneath her feet, and 
glorifies her brow with the descending crown of Heaven. 
These wonderful representations, wonderful as art produc- 
tions, have tended to strengthen the theological errors of 
the Papacy, and they have almost entirely obscured the 
character of Mary as it is given in the Gospels. If we 
would be delivered from illusions, and see her as she really 
was, we must break away from the painters and appeal to 
the evangelists, and then we shall find that she was a 
woman such as Mrs. Browning so eloquently describes, 
from whose lips it was natural such words should fall as 
the poetess indites: 

“ I am not proud — not proud ! 

Albeit in my flesh God sent His Son, 

Albeit over Him my head is bowed 
As others bow before Him, still mine heart 
Bows lower than their knees. 0 centuries 
That roll, in vision, your futurities 
My future grave athwart — 


THE painters’ MADONNAS. 


31 


Whose murmurs seem to reach me while I keep 
Watch o’er this sleep — 

Say of me as the Heavenly said, ‘Thou art 
The blessedest of women!’ — blessedest, 

Not holiest, not noblest — no high name. 

Whose height misplaced may pierce me like a shame. 

When I sit meek in Heaven.” 

Mary is presented to us in the New Testament simply 
as a woman, undoubtedly a remarkable woman, but still 
only a woman. The reflection of her image on its 
pages suggests at once the idea of unsullied purity; and 
we feel how deserved is the encomium quoted by Michelet: 
“ She shone forth as dazzling snow, which the eye could 
hardly look at.” Her devoutness is also apparent. She 
trusts the word of the angel, she accepts the will of God, 
and loses sight of her own peril in the hoped-for deliver- 
ance of her people. There is nothing of frenzy in her 
piety, nor harshness, nor gloominess. It is not fanatical, 
like the Sibyl’s, nor stern like Iphigenia’s, nor frigid like 
the Vestal’s. She is last seen, in the sacred narrative, 
waiting with the Disciples for the descent of the Spirit; 
and thus, at the close of her life, as at the beginning, she 
evinces her confidence in the promises of God. {Luke i 
and Acts ^.) When she replies to the salutation of Eliz- 
abeth, we discover, shining through her words, a faith that 
is warm, joyous, radiant and musical. Her religion is 
sunny, cheerful, hopeful, and yet withal it is deeply 
thoughtful. The Magnificat reveals a mind given to 
to reflection, and one familiar with the ancient Scriptures. 
( Compare I Sam. ii, 1-10, loith Luke i, Jf.6-55.) Han- 
nah’s exultant strains seem to have awakened the Virgin’s 
song, and to have decided the direction of its flight; but 
the freedom of its measure indicates a soul as capable of 
ordering its own ideas as of appreciating the ideas of 
others. The meaning of the shepherds’ visit to the babe 


32 


JESUS THE WORLD’S SAVIOR. 


she is said to have pondered in her heart, as at a later 
day she did the mysterious words of her Son, and at other 
times her attitude is one of serious meditation. (Luke 
19 and 51.) 

According to these delineations, Mary was not a shal- 
low, frivolous, flimsy, worldly woman, but one fully quali- 
fied by earnestness, intelligence and godliness to mold 
aright the character of her child. And in doing this she 
evinces what we would expect from such a woman, the 
greatest tact and the deepest sympathy. When she 
sought the youthful Jesus in .Jerusalem, the authority she 
asserted she gently exercised, as recognizing in Him a 
spirit which needed to be governed reverently and ten- 
derly. She indulges in no harsh epithets and in no 
ungenerous reflections on His apparent precociousness, 
but lovingly wins Him back to filial obedience by the dig- 
nity of her manner and the mildness of her reproaches. 
The same judiciousness distinguishes her after her Son 
enters upon His public ministry. At the wedding in Cana 
His manner seems to have grown reserved towards her, but 
she seems intuitively to realize how heavily burdened His 
head and heart must be with the weighty concerns of His 
mission, and, therefore, to have taken no offense, and to 
have been only anxious to shield Him from the vain ques- 
tionings of others. Never does she interfere with His 
work; rarely does she embarrass Him with her presence; 
and when she does, it is rather to express her fears for His 
safety than to encumber Him with the officiousness of 
her advice. (See Luke m‘, Jf.8-52; John 5/ Matthew 
xii, Luke viii, 19.) On these occasions it is really 
her sympathy that calls her forth from retirement. She 
discovers His perils, has dim forebodings of His violent 
end, and never appears to forget the sword of which the 
angel spoke, and which was to pierce her own soul like- 
wise. Holman Hunt, in his picture, “ The Shadow of the 


THE VIRGIN- AND HER SON. 


33 


Cross,” represents Jesus in His home at Nazareth, stand- 
ing in a position which, when shadowed on the wall, takes 
the form of a cross, while His mother in the foreground is 
seen to be gazing intently on its threatening outlines. 
The thought of the artist is doubtless just; but that shad- 
ow must have fallen on her pathway at an earlier period; 
for when, as Mrs. Browning expresses it, she held her 
^‘darling on her knee,” “the drear, sharp tongue of 
prophecy,” with the words, “despised — rejected,” must 
have been recalled, and must have led her mentally if not 
orally to exclaim: 

Bright angels — move not! lest ye stir the cloud 

Betwixt my soul and His futurity! ” 

How could she do otherwise than sympathize with her 
Son, and how could she refrain from its manifestation, 
when enemies multiplied around His way? Ah! we may 
well believe that she travailed with Him in pain from the 
first, drank deep of His sorrows, had fellowship with Him 
in His sufferings, and, in the supreme hour of His agony, 
when she stood close to His cross, desired to sustain 
Him by the faithfulness of her love. We may believe 
this, and we may likewise believe that when she received 
His pallid corpse, she gave expression to her grief in 
words such as the Greek poet has happily coined for her: 
“ O, blessed brows, embraced by the thorn-wreath which is 
pricking at my heart ! O mouth, wherein was no guile, 
yet betrayed by the traitor’s kiss! O Giver of life from 
the dead, liest Thou dead before mine eyes ? Must I, who 
said ‘hush ’ beside Thy cradle, wail this passion upon Thy 
grave ? I, who washed Thee in Thy first bath, must I 
drop on Thee these hotter tears? I, who raised Thee 
high in my maternal arms — but then Thou leapedst — 
then Thou springedst up in Thy child play! ” (See Mrs. 
Browning’s Greek Christian JPoets.) 

Such a mother must have exerted a marked influence 

3 


34 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


on the character of her child. To question it would he to 
question the reality of Hi*s humanity. "Taken alone, she 
may not account for the whole of Jesus; but it. would be 
unfair to deny that she accounts for part. We see some- 
thing kindred to her devoutness, gentleness, tenderness, 
her veneration for the Word of God, and her calm confi- 
dence in God himself reproduced in her Son. That these 
virtues shone more resplendentlj in Him than in her is 
admitted, and that their perfection may be difficult, if not 
impossible, to harmonize with the theory of His creature- 
hood is conceded; but these admissions do not militate in 
the least against the position that they were fostered and 
developed by her example and training. Thfis much we 
may safely assume; and this much is not without its les- 
son and encouragement for mothers. As Mary guided 
the boy Jesus, so the maternal hand in all ages and nations 
directs the steps of childhood. The world is what women 
make it; for they deal with humanity in its most impressi- 
ble stages, and the principles then inculcated are probably 
the most enduring. It is natural that they should be 
anxious concerning the right performance of a work so 
momentous, and that they should inquire of those who 
have gone before them for counsel to aid them in their 
perplexities. Well may all such look to Mary. She will 
teach them what virtues to cultivate and what methods to 
employ, in rendering their lives of permanent value to 
their children. If they ask what they should be, she will 
answer: Devout, sunny, musical in thoughts and feelings, 
considerate, tender and sympathetic; for how can they 
lead their offspring to God unless they themselves are His 
followers, and how can they train them to cheerful obedi- 
ence and intelligent action unless they themselves are 
radiant and reflective in duty? If they ask what they 
should do, she answers: Be observant of the peculiarities 
of your children, study their ways, do not drive too direct- 


AN EXAMPLE TO MOTHERSo 


35 


ly or too violently to your ends; do not ridicule or deride 
them, but> adapt yourselves to their weaknesses, charm 
them •into obedience, and by your abundant sympathy 
with them in their trials, ambitions and disappointments, 
secure the homage of both their head and heart. This is 
safe counsel. If applied, the result cannot fail to be 
beneficial. All that is expected may not be realized, but 
much that would otherwise be inevitable will be averted. 
The worst character will be better than it would be if in 
early years it has enjoyed these advantages, and the pos- 
sibility of its improvement will be enhanced by their 
recollection. Another Christ will not spring from these 
means, for, through all the ages, no other has, — enough 
to convince us that there was something in Him higher 
and different from ordinary humanity, — but Christians 
may; and next to the blessedness of bearing the Christ is 
the blessedness of multiplying His disciples. 

And this thought leads to another. Mary, by her rela- 
tion to Christianity, speaks to women as women, as well 
as to mothers. She reminds them of their influence on re- 
ligion, and of their responsibility for its perpetuity. It is 
a curious and instructive fact that their sway and power 
were recognized by ancien^ and even superstitious faiths. 
The Artemis of the Greeks, daughter of Jupiter, identical 
with the. Diana of the Latins, was a female divinity whose 
favor was sought by all, but especially by the young. 
Athena, the Roman Minerva, who sprang full-armed from 
the brow of her mighty father Zeus, was worshiped in all 
parts of Greece, and was the patron-goddess of Athens; 
and to them both were such prayers addressed as the sup- 
pliant offers in ^ischylus, “ Chaste daughter of Zeus, thou 
whose calm eye is never troubled, look down upon us ! 
Virgin, defend the virgins.” Hestia among the Greeks, and 
Vesta among the Romans, were represented by the sacred 
fire, teaching that the flame of piety, like that other flame 


36 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


•which rises on the hearth, must be kindled and maintained 
by woman’s care. Similar traditions prevailed among the 
Germans and the Scandinavians, and, indeed, the Northern 
nations have generally regarded the wife as the priestess 
of the family. Consistently with these views, female 
morality was carefully guarded by the ancients. The 
Romans in their better days would not permit their wo- 
men to taste wine. The famous Bona Dea, according 
to Lecky, was a wife named Fatua, remarkable for her 
purity, who, in an evil hour, violated the Roman law, 
and, being found intoxicated, was scourged to death by 
her husband. He afterward repented of his haste, and 
paid her divine honors; but the story goes to show how 
intolerant the times were of any kind of defilement in 
woman. It is related of the German wives, whose hus- 
bands were conquered by Marius, that, their request to 
become servants of the Vestals being denied, they com- 
mitted suicide, rather than incur the danger of personal 
contamination — a story that illustrates how thoroughly the 
prevailing sentiment had mastered the conscience of the 
weaker sex as of the stronger. Now, in what other way 
can these ideas and customs be accounted for than that 
already suggested? They can be explained by the con- 
viction that the religious life of a nation is inseparable 
from faith, piety, and purity in woman, and that for her to 
abandon its altars and cease to frequent its temples 
must result in the ruin of both. Any other explanation 
is inadequate. But if we are in doubt of its soundness, 
we need only refer to the annals of primitive Christianity. 
The Gospels and Epistles record her abundant and suc- 
cessful labors in its behalf. There we find no jealousy 
of her influence, and no plans to circumscribe her power. 
Profane history likewise chronicles her self-sacrificing 
endeavors, and the names of Helena, Flacilla, Pulcheria, 
Fabiola, Paula, and of many others are honored as friends 


WOMAN AND RELIGION. 


37 


of Jesus. Up to the year 369 she occupied official stations 
in the Church, but in that year in the Council of Laodicea 
priestly dominance prevailed against her, and in the fifth 
century three other councils completed her humiliation. 
Of late, however, these wrongs are being remedied, and 
the Church is returning to the juster faith of olden times; 
and everywhere is it being acknowledged that the zeal, 
tact, tenderness, and energy of woman are indispensable 
to Christianity, and must be permitted free scope if Chris- 
tianity is to advance and triumph. 

My sisters, power and influence involve responsibility. 
On this point Mary’s example speaks to you. She accepted 
the position assigned her by Providence, though it entailed 
shame and suffering, as well as honor, and though it ren- 
dered her unpleasantly conspicuous. Looking through the 
ages on her calm and placid countenance, as she accepts 
her mission from God, learn to take up your duty, quietly, 
firmly, and in His fear. See to it, first of all, that you, 
too, are mothers of Christ — of Christ born in your heart, 
the hope of glory — and then, in the spirit derived from 
Him, devote yourselves as earnestly to His cause as the 
Virgin was devoted to His person. Then will your obliga- 
tions be met, and then will religion be prospered and 
humanity be blessed; and then as the Parthenon, Athens’ 
grandest temple, was dedicated to Athens’ purest goddess, 
shall Christianity, the temple of God, forever show forth 
the praise of woman. 


III. 

THE PREPARATION OF JESUS. 


And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with 
God and man . — Diike ii, 52. 

APOCHRYPHAL gospels, inspired by fanatical zeal 
and fanciful ignorance, ascribe to Jesus during 
his earlier years such marvels as they in their shallowness 
deem appropriate to his super-earthly origin. According 
to their report the boy was a prodigy — a youthful magi- 
cian or thaumaturgist — who delighted in mystifying and 
startling His associates by the display of His wondrous 
powers. He is represented as carrying water in His robe, 
as molding birds of clay, and as clapping His hands to 
make them fly; as acting superciliously and impertinently 
toward Joseph, His reputed father, and His teachers; as 
turning some of His playmates into kids, and as striking 
others of them dead with a curse — stories which, if they 
could be credited, would only prove that their precocious 
hero was a very superficial, ill-behaved, and contemptible 
character. It is a satisfaction to know that there is no 
foundation in fact for these preposterous and silly legends, 
and that He whom they seek to honor, but in truth de- 
grade, was not conspicuous in His childhood for anything 
beyond the quiet and natural development of mind and 
body recorded in the text. 

In ignoring these idle traditions, and writing as they do 
of physical and mental growth, the evangelists place be- 
yond question the reality and completeness of Christ’s 
humanity. .It is said by Paul that Jesus “took on Him 

38 


FROM INFANCY TO MANHOOD. 


39 


the seed of Abraham,” and was “in all things” made 
“like unto His brethren;” also, that He “learned obedi- 
ence,” and was made “ perfect through sufferings'” — state- 
ments in exact accord with the simple but significant nar- 
ration of Luke. Whatever may be true of His Divinity — 
and the Apostle evidently has it in full view when he rep- 
resents Him as choosing the nature in which He will 
appear among men, for a creature cannot predetermine the 
form of his creaturehood — He was in all essential respects 
a being like ourselves. He grew weary. He was strength- 
ened by an angel. He suffered. He hungered. He thirsted, 
He had positive desires which He expressed, a^d He ex- 
perienced a sorrow of soul which he acknowledged was 
even unto death. (/See Ileb. ^, 10^ 16, 17; v. 8, 9; Luke 
xxii, Ji2, JfS; JMark xiv, SIf.7) Jesus then, whatever else 
He was, assuredly was man; not merely man in physical 
structure, but in soul as well. That is, we are not to 
think, as some have argued, that His personality was 
purely divine, the divine being the sole animating princi- 
ple of His body; but rather, that, like others of the race. 
He possessed a proper human spirit, which, though mys- 
teriously allied with a higher nature, was capable of being 
trained, enlightened, expanded — educated. This conclu- 
sion, although manifestly warranted by the explicit teach- 
ing of Scripture, some timid people hesitate to accept and 
try to evade. They imagine it to be derogatory to His 
more exalted rank, and freighted with mischief to the 
entire Christian scheme. And yet what can we do? We 
must either disregard the express utterances of the Gospel, 
and incur the suspicion of being more anxious to subserve 
a theory than to ascertain the truth; or we must assume 
that the flesh of Jesus was all that advanced in wisdom, 
which is an evident solecism; or, what is even a graver 
absurdity and greater contradiction, that the changeless 
and infinitely wise Deity is mutable and improvable; or, we 


40 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


must receive what is written, and believe that Jesus had a 
soul conditioned like our own, and, like our own, suscepti- 
ble to cultivation. It will not do to admit the reality of 
His human soul and then deny the reality of its progres- 
siveness; for such denial destroys its kinship with the 
spiritual in other men, and forces us to advocate the un- 
tenable hypothesis that the infant Jesus was at His birth 
mentally and morally of full stature; that the body of the 
babe was from the beginning linked with the mind of the 
sage; and that He was never a child except in a physical 
sense. Such conceptions are incongruous and irrational, 
and, for one, I repudiate them. Taking the Gospels for 
our guide, and common-sense for our rule of interpretation, 
we cannot fail to believe that the intellect of Jesus ripened 
as His body matured; that His knowledge increased. His 
powers expanded, and His varied spiritual graces gradually 
unfolded. It need not be objected that this implies in- 
crease of moral worthiness, for it involves no such difficulty. 
From innocence He grew into righteousness, from holiness 
of being into holiness of doing; but, as the diamond is in- 
trinsically as priceless before it is faceted as after, and as 
the golden ingot is essentially the same as the golden coin, 
so the native purity of our Lord was just as perfect at the 
first as it was at the last, when its radiance shone forth in 
conduct, and when it was minted into the currency of 
blameless action. 

During some thirty years this educational process was 
going on; and if, during that period, the outward life of 
Jesus seems barren of results, inwardly it was certainly 
fruitful. Externally it may have been as the winter’s snow, 
but, beneath the snow, blossoms and flowers were making 
ready for the spring. In fixing this boundary line, we do 
not commit ourselves to the denial of subsequent develop- 
ment, but merely desire to designate the time spent in 
preparation for His ministry. That ministry brought its 


THE father’s business. 


41 


own schooling and its own lessons, and these are worthy 
of consideration in their place; but, as we usually regard 
the necessary training for a vocation specifically as educa- 
tion, we may be allowed here to employ the term in this 
conventional way, restricting its application to what took 
place in fitting our Savior for His work. Two things were 
necessary: That He attain to the consciousness of Himself, 
of His calling, and of the character of His mission; and, 
secondly, that His mind be enlightened and all His spiritual 
powers be unfolded and strengthened, so that He Himself 
might be honored and His mission be fulfilled. On these 
aspects of His preparation it cannot but be profitable to 
meditate, as they will familiarize us more fully with Jesus 
as He was, and may suggest some practical thoughts ap- 
plicable to our own life as it is. 

Neander, in his historical account of Christ, says: “We 
cannot believe that the full consciousness of a Divine call, 
which he displayed in His later years, was of sudden 
growth.” He traces its dawning to His youth, and follows 
it to the time when it seems to have been complete.d at 
His baptism, or just before. Ebrard, referring to that 
ceremony, says: “In the development of His consciousness 
He had just reached that point in which He clearly appre- 
hended the vocation given Him by His Father.” Krum- 
macher, Lange, Robertson, Horace Bushnell, and other 
eminent theologists substantially adopt this view; and I 
cannot see, if what has been stated regarding His humanity 
be admitted, how it can be questioned. It is inconceiva- 
ble that as a babe He should have had the consciousness 
of a man, or that He should have realized His mysterious 
relation to a higher Being. Much more rational the theory 
that, from His childhood, self-knowledge advanced, at first 
slowly, then more rapidly, until a climax was reached just 
before He stepped out of His obscurity and made the 
public avowal of His Messiahship. As the mariner, who 


42 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


for weeks has traversed the indefiniteness and monotonous- 
ness of ocean, discerns at last what seems to his eyes banks 
of fog on the horizon’s verge, but which slowly change 
into the faint outlines of hills and cities, and then, on some 
clear morning, suddenly emerge from the mist in shapes 
distinct and sharp; so Jesus, from the blank and vague 
domain of infancy, gradually enters the more transparent 
world of boyhood, in which He gets a glimpse of personal 
relations, dignities, and missions, and then continues His 
voyage toward manhood mid ever-increasing light, and in 
the fullness of that light obtains at last a perfect view of 
all that He is in Himself, all that He is to God, and all that 
He is to man. The episode in His early life which occurred 
at Jerusalem, confirms the propriety of this illustration. 
At that time He appears to have had a confused and partial 
idea of His supernatural origin and wonderful destiny, 
and replies to His mother’s inquiry: “Wist ye not that I 
must be about my Father’s business?” — that is, “engaged 
in the things of my Father” — language which implies 
that He perceived, in part, at least. His true position in 
the world’s history, and felt within His soul strange inti- 
mations of approaching greatness. But that this appre- 
hension of Himself, and this insight into the future were 
not final, and were not unobscured, may be inferred from 
the fact that He resumes His modest station in the family, 
returns to the commonplace pursuits of Nazareth, and gives 
no sign for eighteen years. He had seen in a glass darkly, 
and then the image seems to have been blurred; but finally 
He comes to see face to face, or face answering to face. 
From feeling and thinking as a child, at last He feels and 
thinks as a man, and, when He does so. He puts away 
childish things, and speaks, yea, and acts, as a man. 

The development of his consciousness we cannot fol- 
low through its various stages, but we can form, from His 
subsequent claims and conduct, an idea of its character. 


THE SYMPATHY OF CHRIST. 


43 


He must have recognized in Himself what we ourselves 
feel as human souls, the reality of personal existence, the 
I being and authority of God, and the certainty of immor- 
tality. Most likely the sense of these sublimities was 
j more vivid in Him than in us, as it was undoubtedly asso- 

1 ciated with an interior revelation of a greatness with 

which there is nothing to compare in mortals. Gradually 
it dawned upon His mind that He was the child of prom- 
ise, the Being toward whom the eyes of preceding gener- 
ations had been turned, the Messiah of prophecy, the 
Jesus of Jehovah. As such. He must have felt strange 
powers stirring in Him, and must have realized the pos- 
session of practically limitless resources. The outward 
marvels of His life, from the miracle of the marriage to 
1 that of the resurrection, must have been before His con- 
I sciousness as possibilities ere they were before the world 
I as actualities. His intimate and wonderful relations with 
the Infinite must likewise have been known to Him, He 
refers to them in His ministry. “He that hath seen Me 
hath seen the Father;” “Believe Me that I am in the 
Father, and the Father in Me,” was the burden of His 
most impressive discourse. Frequently in His teaching 
the same thought occurs, though in other forms ; and 
throughout we may discern His recognition of a nature 
abiding in Him that is not of earth. He moves, He 
I speaks. He works, as one whose humanity is strangely 
blended with Divinity, and as one with whom is a Pres- 
ence which the Heaven of heavens cannot contain. But 
there is another side to this consciousness. Realizing His 
Messianic office. He must also have realized the awful con- 
dition of things that made it necessary, and the terrible 
ordeal through which He must pass to effect deliverance. 
That is. He must have felt the world’s lost and wretched 
state, must have borne on His heart not only its sorrows but 
its sins, and sympathetically must have tasted the bitterness 


44 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


of its shame. As a parent cannot but take to himself the 
dishonor of his offspring, and cannot but share the anguish 
of his child, so Jesus, being what He was, could not but 
have a suffering sense of the loathsomeness of every ini- 
quity that has outraged the race, and of the painfulness of 
every affliction that has desolated its affections. Picture 
to yourselves this Being, burdened with every woe, every 
calamity, and every evil that has befallen humanity, and so 
identifying Himself with the race that its sinfulness and sor- 
rowfulness are to Him as though they were His own ; and 
then picture Him as sensible of His mission, consecrated 
by God to the holy but awful work of finding a way of 
escape for the guilty, and of providing consolation 
and succor for the distressed, and as seeing the weary, 
thorny, bloody road He must travel, even the way of the 
cross, to win redemption for mankind, and you will have a 
fair, if not an exhaustive, conception of the state of mind 
in which our Lord confronted the approach of the hour 
when His vocation must begin. Like the eye, which at 
a glance takes in the magnificence of the stellar heavens 
and the horrors of the battlefield, the soul of Jesus at the 
same moment was filled with the splendors of Infinitude 
and the indescribable sufferings of the finite, and with His 
own approaching agony as associated with the latter by 
ties of brotherhood. 

Evidently while this preparation for His future minis- 
try was going forward, the evolution of character was also 
taking place. The faculties and powers of His soul must 
have unfolded, as the bud opens into the flower, and as 
the promise of dawn grows into the radiance of noon. 
We find Him on the threshold of His public career what 
He is at the close — thoughtful, self-collected, serene, res- 
olute in purpose, clear in judgment, prompt in action, elo- 
quent in speech, affectionate in spirit, . and dignified in 
manner. He does not bring an undisciplined intellect to 


SELF-EDUCATION-. 


45 


His mighty work, but one drilled and fitted to encounter 
the most skillful and determined of adversaries. He does 
not attempt to measure strength with the hosts of dark- 
ness until He has equipped Himself for the conflict. Noth- 
ing is undertaken prematurely or carelessly. Jesus tempers 
the steel before He draws the sword; He hardens His hand 
before He puts the share in the ground; He sharpens the 
ax before He raises it against the tree, and is sure of His 
powder before He attempts to blast the rock. From the 
moment that He steps into public view, the people realize 
that He is no novice. They call Him “Master,” “Rabbi,” 
and even His enemies admit his wonderful superiority, 
and question among themselves, “ How knoweth this man 
letters, having never learned?” “And whence hath He 
this wisdom and these mighty works?” 

The inquiries of His perplexed countrymen suggest a 
very important line of thought. That Jesus did not enter 
on His ministry without adequate preparation is apparent. 
The character of that preparation is equally clear. But 
it is not as evident how, by what means, through what 
agencies, it was accomplished. He certainly was not 
educated in the higher schools of the land, had never 
enjoyed the advantages of advanced instruction, had 
never been a pupil of any of the Rabbis, and had never 
attached Himself to any of the sects — either to Phari- 
sees, Sadducees, or Essenes — and could not, therefore, 
have been indebted to them for His training. Probably 
He was taught, as other Hebrew children were, the moral 
and ceremonial laws of Judaism. This was customary, 
and there is no reason why an exception should have been 
made in His case. Doubtless He attended, with those of 
His own age, the synagogue of His town, where, accord- 
ing to Josephus, the scholars were “taught to read, and 
to walk in the ways of the Law, and to know the deeds 
of their fathers.” But this primary instruction, compara- 


46 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


ble to that now received in the lower grade of common 
schools, was not sufficient to equip Him for His work. 
The explanation must be sought in other directions, and 
mainly in Himself ; that is, .Jesus was in the truest sense 
a self-made man. He disciplined His own powers, devel- 
oped His own energies, and was the architect of His own 
character. Of course, there were influences that sur- 
rounded Him, and circumstances that affected Him, and 
opportunities that opened up before Him ; but the appro- 
priation of the first, the improvement of the second, and 
the appreciation of the third were determined by Himself. 
The difference between a self-made man and one that is 
manufactured is not so much in the advantages they pos- 
sess as in their ability to master them. The former is 
independent and self-reliant, and will force an education 
out of everything, and almost out of nothing, while the 
latter is only educated to the degree that others succeed 
in thrusting on him knowledge and culture. Jesus ranks 
with the self-made, because, with the exception of His 
mother and his early teachers — narrow-minded and prej- 
udiced Jews — no one had anything to do with the form- 
ing of His mind, and, therefore, what He was must be 
attributed to His own vigor and wisdom in employing the 
materials that lay at His hand. 

The beautiful and holy life of His mother must have 
profoundly impressed Him; and it is not unreasonable to 
suppose that He acquired from her some of the graces that 
distinguished Him. Probably from her lips in the days of 
His youth or early manhood He learned the marvelous 
story of His birth; and this, answering to something in 
Him, may have ministered to the development of His 
Messianic consciousness. He likewise must have been in- 
fluenced in the same direction by the Word of God; for 
he evidently was a student of its sacred pages, and He 
could hardly have fed on its teachings without recognizing 


EVERYWHERE A SCHOOL. 


47 


more clearly His own origin, calling and destiny. But 
thousands have had godly parents and have never grown 
purer, and thousands have had the Bible and never grown 
wiser. The difference between them and Jesus is, that 
while they attached no adequate value to their privileges, 
and sought no personal advantage from them. He prized 
what God had conferred, and enriched Himself with the 
treasure. To Him the Scriptures were precious; and the 
study of them served to discipline His intellect, kindle His 
imagination, and fire His soul, as it has in multitudes of 
other instances. Nor is it unlikely that Nature also con- 
tributed, in some degree, to call forth His greatness. The 
scenery of Galilee is famous for its beauty. From His 
childhood He must have been familiar with the magnifi- 
cent panorama of lake and mountain, of wooded Naph- 
tali and purple Carmel, of Gilboa’s heights and Endor’s 
plains, and of the spots made doubly interesting by his- 
toric associations. The armies of the Amalekites, of the 
Egyptians, of the Assyrians, of the Greeks, and of the 
Romans had encamped in the valleys near His home, and 
there momentous battles had been fought, and memorable 
events had occurred. In His wanderings and meditations 
these scenes, with actions and personages connected with 
them, must have passed before Him and have spoken to 
Him with those voices which sensitive souls yet recognize 
as sounding through the works of God and deeds of men. 
Contemplating specially these Divine works for many 
years. He may, in part, have become assimilated to them, 
the rocks imparting their strength to His will, the valleys 
their expansiveness to His charity, and the flowers their 
grace to His righteousness. Yea, they may even have 
gladdened the hidden Deity tabernacling in Him, as they 
did on Creation’s morning, and they may have drawn 
from Him a revelation of His indwelling presence, even 


48 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


as they ever tend to discover whatever of God yet remains 
in the poor human heart. 

To these influences, also, may be added those of His 
social surroundings. While the Jews of Nazareth were 
very decided Jews, the population of the town was mixed. 
From the time that Solomon gave the district to Hiram, 
King of Tyre, many strangers had resided there — chiefly, 
according to Strabo, Syrians, Phoenicians and Arabs — 
and on this account Isaiah had called it “ Galilee of the 
Gentiles.” The great road, spoken of anciently as ‘‘the 
way of the sea,” from Damascus to Ptolemas, ran just be- 
hind Nazareth; the Roman highway from Syria lay 
through the town itself, and another to Judea and Egypt 
skirted the hill on which it stood. Caravans constantly 
passed the little city, bringing the representatives of many 
nationalities in contact with its citizens. It is not unrea- 
sonable to suppose that Jesus held intercourse with these 
merchants and traders; that occasionally there may have 
been found among them philosophers traveling from one 
point to another, from whom He may have gathered infor- 
mation, and it is probable that the fraternity of com- 
merce may have fostered His cosmopolitan views, and have 
suggested the higher brotherhood of humanity. That He 
should have been thus affected and aided by these means 
is not, however, explained by the means themselves, but 
by what He was in Himself. Others were related to 
them as He was, but only one Jesus appeared. He, and 
He alone made them tributary to his personal develop- 
ment, and that through the native grandeur of His soul, 
aided doubtless by the Holy Spirit who, we are told, “dwelt 
in Him without measure,” and who is comprehensively de- 
scribed as “ the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the 
Spirit of counsel and might,” and who not only must have 
stimulated His original endowments, but must have re- 


ARMIifG FOR BATTLE. 


49 


vealed to His consciousness the essential wonders of His 
Being and Vocation. 

Young friends, — for to you I speak particularly — ac- 
cept this word of application: Life lies before you, and 
you are approaching the hour when you must enter on its 
duties and its varied experiences. Let the example of 
Jesus constrain you to prepare. Thousands on thousands 
idle their youth away, despise its opportunities for improve- 
ment, and pass into the conflict unarmed, undrilled, undis- 
ciplined and consequently are ready to fall an easy prey 
to the destroyer. The remedy is — self-education. If you 
would attain success in any calling or profession, equip- 
ment for it must precede its pursuit; and if life as a whole 
is to be grandly triumphant, the same course must be 
adopted. You must develop your mental resources, must 
inform your mind, must enlighten your judgment, must 
master your appetites, must sanctify your heart — in a 
word, must attain manhood, if you would fight a man’s 
battles and win a man’s victories. To make this prepara- 
tion you must be conscious of your needs and your defi- 
ciencies. On the one side, you must realize the imperfec- 
tion of your moral nature and your absolute dependence 
upon God, and on the other, you must seek to appreciate 
the soul’s greatness and aim to attain Divine approval. 
And this two-fold endeavor and the results which should 
follow lie within your own power. You must build your 
own character in time, and in so doing, will fashion 
your destiny for all eternity. Every man in reality is 
self-made, self-made whether for good or ill, and not 
even the Almighty can make him other than he wills. 
Contemplate, then, seriously your responsibility, and, like 
Jesus, use the means that are near you — for they are 
abundant — and you will be able to fit yourself for the 
position Providence assigns you in the world. Study the 
Scriptures, and they will reveal yourself to yourself, and 
4 


50 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


will help to mold your character in righteousness; consider 
God’s works, and they will expand your soul and will min- 
ister to the elevation of your desires; confide in Christ, and 
He will make known to you your inherent dignity, and 
will transform you into His image; and scrutinize your 
fellow-mortals, and they will teach you, by their vicissi- 
tudes, what to avoid and what to follow. Employ these 
means wisely, vigorously, and look for the Holy Spirit to 
aid and direct you in their use, and, like Jesus, you will 
be prepared to take up the mission of life and to conduct 
it to a victorious close. But if they are neglected, if 
youth is wasted, and if precious opportunities are rejected, 
the spendthrift’s shame will assuredly crown the spend- 
thrift’s folly. Remember: 

“ The hypocritic days, 

***** 

Bring diadems or fagots in theii- hands. 

To each they olfer gifts after his will — 

Bread, kingdoms, stars, and heaven that holds them all. 

T, in my pleached garden, watched the pomp. 

Forgot my morning wishes, hastily 
Took a few herbs and apples, and the day 
Turned and departed silent : I too late 
Under her solemn fillet saw the scorn.” 


IV. 

THE HARBINGEH OF JESUS. 


This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger 
before thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before thee.— 
xi^ 10. 

T he blast of the sirocco foretokens the coming of spring, 
the crash of the avalanche proclaims the advent of 
summer, the ephemeral blossoms of orchards announce the 
birth-hour of fruit, and the transient gray of the morning 
presages the glory of day, as the star of the evening pre- 
dicts the silver bestudding of night. An advance guard 
precedes the main body of armies, the blazonry of heralds 
betokens the progress of royalty, and the ring of the ax 
and the fall of the tree prepare the way for the permanent 
upbuilding of civilization. Great men, like great princes, 
have harbingers also,' and new revolutions, like new civiliza- 
tions, have their signs and forerunners. John Huss, in 
Bohemia, and Wycliffe, in England, foreshadowed the 
coming of Luther; and Marat and Robespierre were omin- 
ous both of the rise and the ravages of the mighty Na- 
poleon. And thus the appearance of Jesus, the Messiah 
of God, was foretold by the prophets, and His speedy 
approach by the voice of the Baptist. From the times of 
the ancients it had been declared that the path for His 
feet should be straightened by the labors of one 
who should preach in the spirit of Elijah, the 
prophet. As the overture introduces the play, vaguely 
hints at its plot, dimly suggests the course of its action, 
and prepares the spectator for the strife of its heroes and 
the triumph of virtue, so the harbinger was to usher in 

51 


. 52 JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 

the Messiah, forecast His work, obscurely depict the line 
of His conduct, and incline the heart of the people to wel- 
come His presence and submit to His law. And, as the 
overture is brief and is speedily lost in forgetfulness, its 
sweetness being drowned in the drama’s excitement, so the 
herald’s commission is swiftly concluded and his greatness 
eclipsed by the light of his master. Like a windstorm 
that exhausts itself rapidly and gives way to the calm, like 
the fire that blazes on high, desolating, destroying, and 
then sinks quickly again, John startled the world and 
hastily declined before the dawning splendor of Jesus; and, 
like the lamp to which he compares himself, having shed 
his gleam on the feet of his Master, he flickers and dies, 
while his Master rises up like a sun, filling earth with His 
glory, and, like the “midnight sun” described by Du 
Chaillu, bathes all who receive Him in daylight continu- 
ous. 

The Baptist was born in Hebron, a town on the verge 
of the wilderness, 3,000 feet above the Mediterranean, 
from which elevation the golden peaks of the Temple 
could be seen to the north, rising from among the streets 
of Jerusalem. It was there that Abraham purchased from 
Ephron a place for his dead; it was there, in the cave 
called Machpelah, that the patriarchs were buried; it was 
there that the oak-grove of Mamre spread its cooling 
shade, where Abraham also builded an altar to God; it 
was there that Anak and his giant sons defended them- 
selves; it was there that Caleb beheld the fruit of the vine, 
which enraptured his eyes and gladdened his heart; and it 
was there that the earliest Judean civilization found its 
home and established its throne. In this little city lived 
Zacharias, the priest, and his wife Elizabeth, the parents 
of John. “ They were both righteous before God, walking 
in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, 
blameless.” But, alas! they were childless — considered in 


IN THE WILDERNESS. 


53 


their day a grievous calamity. God did not, however, 
abandon them to this reproach, but in their old age con- 
ferred on them the gift of a son, a son who should be 
called “the Prophet of the Highest,” and who should “go 
before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.” Receiv- 
ing this trust with joyous gratitude, they doubtless named 
their boy with a view to his sacred vocation, and revealing 
to him the supernatural communications that accompanied 
his birth, they cultivated in him a spirit of consecration 
worthy his exalted destiny. Influenced by the instruction 
and example of his parents, by the traditions connected 
with the town of his nativity, and by the prevailing ex- 
pectations of the people regarding the near approach of 
the Messiah, John must gradually have developed in a line 
with the angel’s description of his character. But the 
more fully he realized in himself the spirit of his proto- 
type, Elijah, the less was he reconciled to life in Hebron, 
to its secular worries and commonplaces, to its pagan 
invaders and enemies, and to its vulgar inquisitiveness 
concerning himself. Hence, at an early period in his 
career, he separated himself from home and friends and 
plunged into the desert. 

Beginning not far from .Jerusalem, the wilderness which 
received the harbinger extends eastward and southward, 
bordering the Dead Sea, and penetrating Idumaea. It is 
marked by jagged rocks, verdureless wastes, deep ravines, 
yawning chasms, and dreary caverns. Everywhere traces 
of upheaval, earthquake, and tempest are apparent, and 
the entire region well deserves the name given to it by 
the Hebrews — “The Appalling Desolation.” There, espe- 
cially, in a vale called Engedi, colonies of ascetic Essenes 
were established, whose aim was to escape defilement by 
isolation. In these vast solitudes they could give them- 
selves to meditation, could maintain some degree of spir- 
itual freedom, and could preserve themselves from the 


54 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


polluting touch of the Roman power, whose eagles pro- 
faned the most sacred places. While John never seems 
to have joined himself to these communities, and certainly 
never adopted their views — for, unlike them, he ulti- 
mately mingles with publicans and sinners — he so far 
sympathized with them as to accept their mode of life, 
and for a season secluded himself from the strife and noisy 
ambitions of society. 

Michelet says that the object of the sage, in taking up 
his abode in the lonely mountain, was to disengage him- 
self from the world, and from the well worn furrows of old 
routine — to free himself from the pressure and entangle- 
ment of the crowd, and from the tyranny of his own 
nature. There the soul uprises from the dark night of its 
sensual tomb, and, like the dawn breaking through heavy 
mists, reveals the serene grandeur of its purer and better 
self. Alone — shut off from all earthly sounds and earthly 
sights, save those which monotonous dreariness presents 
— it seems to traverse the infinite. The very air of the 
desert, when charged with the ominous wailings of the 
tempest, imparts a preternatural depth to the feelings, 
and, in the stillness of solemn night, bathes the perturbed 
spirit in holy calm. There, where the living may not 
intrude, the dead are present. Solitude is peopled with 
the great and good of former generations, and its shadows 
take the forms of dear ones who have left us, and in its 
stillness we feel again the touch of a hand that is cold, 
and the sound of a voice that is hushed. As Landor has 
it, “Solitude is the audience-chamber of God. It is also 
the meeting-place of the living and the dead. Then, in 
its calm, can we not measure better than in the noise of 
the world the real value of the things we strive for? 
Nearness to the objects blinds us to their character. 
When w’e are alone we soon find that the crown we have 
won is not worth the battle — that the harvest is not worth 


THE HOUR AND THE MAN. 


55 


the toil.” John doubtless realized these things. There, 
in the hospitable sterility of the wilderness, beneath the 
deep clear eyes of the Syrian stars, he doubtless attained 
to the most perfect communion with God, held fellowship 
with the heroic deeds of his people, obtained complete 
mastery over himself, and prepared to rush irresistibly 
into the vortex of the world’s maddened movements. 
There the great idea of his ministry, which was to seize 
on the public mind and carry whole generations onward 
and upward, unquestionably grew so distinct and domi- 
nant that he longed for the hour when he should step 
forth from his retirement, to proclaim the coming of Him 
who should “turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” 

The hour came at last. How he heard its stroke we 
know not. But this we know: When expectancy was 
ripe, when social evils had reached a climax, and when the 
darkness was deepening into thickest night, the attention 
of the people was directed to the wilderness. In a desert 
God had given His law; in a desert such heroes as Moses 
and Elijah had been disciplined for service, and now, 
through the stony portals of the desert, a strange voice 
was heard exclaiming; “Repent ye, for the kingdom of 
heaven is at hand.” Multitudes hastened to the scene, 
and there they found an attenuated figure, clothed with 
a rough garment of camel’s hair, whose pallid brows were 
shaded by long, matted hair, and whose emaciated cheeks 
were covered with a tattered beard. He was slowly 
moving northward along the course of the Jordan, in 
whose waters he was baptizing the people. He pauses at 
Bethabara — the Bethabara of our maps — and then pro- 
ceeds towards Galilee, as though expecting to meet some 
one, and stops again at a spot where the river Jabbok 
flows into the Jordan. Along the tortuous road the 
crowds surge and follow, the places of those who return 
to their homes being rapidly filled by others eager to see 


56 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


and hear. The country is ablaze with excitement, and 
even the authorities are extraordinarily moved, and send 
deputies to inquire concerning him. They knew not but 
he might be another Judas, the Galilean, who had headed 
a revolt; or, indeed, he might be the Messiah Himself; 
at least it was important to know from whence he came 
and what he purposed. But to the anxious throngs who 
hung upon his words, and to the inquiring priests and 
levites alike, he had but one duty to preach — repentance; 
one assurance to give — the certain and speedy manifesta- 
tion of the Messiah; and one explanation to offer of his 
own appearance and work — “I am the voice of one crying 
in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord.” 

That John came to prepare society for what was to fol- 
low in the ministry of Jesus, is clear from his own state- 
ments, and from subsequent events; but how this prepar- 
ation was effected is not as evident, and is worthy of some 
special effort to determine. Perhaps, if we can decide 
this point, we may not only understand the work of the 
harbinger better, but discern more distinctly the relations 
which we, as disciples, sustain to the world. 

First of all, John must impress us as a preacher of 
righteousness. He seems to have come from the wilder- 
ness to rouse the people to a sense of their iniquities, to 
startle their dormant conscience, and, by so doing, to bring 
them into sympathy with the spirit of Him who is recog- 
nized by all generations as the “Holy One of Israel.” He 
proclaimed the “Kingdom of Heaven,” not that he was 
absolutely clear on all points, as his subsequent perplexities 
regarding the identity of Jesus imply, but that the multi- 
tudes might realize the indispensableness of repentance 
to the actual possession of Divine favor; for it was 
known to them that every great benefit conferred by the 
Almighty on their ancestors had been preceded by refor- 
mation, and it was, therefore, only reasonable that the 


THE prophet’s PREACHING. 


57 


same condition should be required still. He consequently 
linked the blessing with the duty, that the one might 
enforce and explain the other. And evidently it carried 
great weight with it, for the people with alacrity con- 
fessed their sins, professed to put them away, and attested 
their sincerity by baptism in the Jordan. To this course 
they were also impelled as much by the searching and 
unsparing character of John’s preaching as by the grand- 
eur of the prospect which he opened to their faith. He 
declares that the ax is laid at the root of the tree, and 
that every tree that bringeth not forth fruit must be hewn 
down and cast into the fire. Warnings breathe from his 
lips, and threats of coming wrath mingle with invitations 
of mercy. He rudely but faithfully sweeps away their 
expectations founded on lineage, and reminds those who 
would build on their father’s virtue that God out of 
stones could raise up children unto Abraham. The duty 
he enjoins is pressed home on each individual. He has 
special directions for the tax-collector, for the soldier, and 
for the affluent and ruling classes. To each person and 
each order he has a special message, showing in what par- 
ticular the conduct of each must be reformed. Mani- 
festly the stern Baptist takes no roseate view of iniquity, 
engages in no nice distinctions regarding degrees of 
responsibility; but, looking on sin as a monstrous curse, 
brings to bear on its removal the entire force of his con- 
victions. The moral greatness of the man himself imparts 
additional intensity to his appeals. His personal sanctity 
IS a living rebuke to the impurity of his age; his abstemi- 
ousness brings into sharp relief the indulgence and effem- 
inacy of his times; his independence condemns the syco- 
phancy of his countrymen, and his courage their nerveless- 
ness and timidity. By contrast with him his contempora- 
ries see what they are — their corruption, licentiousness, 
weakness, and servility are revealed to them — and, being 


58 


• JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


filled with contempt of themselves, they take np the ques- 
tion: “What shall we do, then?” and are ready to give 
heed to the answer that falls from lips such as his. Thus, 
then, through these means, the harbinger rouses the slum- 
bering conscience and forces the nation to view its own 
moral degradation, awakes in it desires for deliverance, 
and, in so doing, prepares it for the ministry of Him who 
comes to seek and to save the lost. 

While the preacher of righteousness in this manner 
deals wdth the people, he is not oblivious to the necessity 
of disclosing and identifying the person of the Messiah. 
Witness must be borne to Him; He must be introduced 
by one in whom the public have confidence, else a tre- 
mendous obstacle would remain in the way of His success. 
Having revealed the depth and the guilt of sin, surely it 
was due to the conscience-stricken that the Redeemer 
should be pointed out. If, therefore, for no other reason, 
the moral tempest he had evoked demanded that he should 
make known the Being at whose word a holy calm would 
return. There was, however, an additional reason for this 
act. The way before the Messiah was to be prepared, and 
this could only be done by fixing the attention of all 
classes on the Personage who claimed this title, and by 
bearing witness to the rightfulness of the claim. This 
would arouse interest in His movements, would open the 
heart to His instruction, and would, at least, constrain 
friends and foes rigidly to scrutinize the evidence, fur- 
nished by His doctrines and doings, of His Messianic 
character. 

In the person of Jesus of Nazareth, .John recognizes 
the promised One — Him who had been called “ The Desire 
of All Nations” — and before the multitudes at the Jordan 
he acknowledges His exalted rank. How the prophet 
knew the real dignity of the peasant, how he discerned 
His glory beneath the garments of humility, we know 


THE LAMB OF GOD. 


59 


not. Though related to Jesus by ties of kindred, and 
though from his mother he may have heard the story of 
Bethlehem, he had not seen Him since childhood, if at 
all Their homes were distant from each other, and their 
paths had lain in different directions. Consequently Jesus 
was a stranger to John. From what he had heard of 
Mary’s Son the thoughts of the harbinger may have 
turned toward Him, and he may have expected Him to 
come out of Galilee; but he had no means, at least none 
that we can ascertain, of knowing that the humble man 
who came demanding baptism at his hands was the very 
Jesus around whose birth so many marvels had clustered. 
But he knew Him, nevertheless. Perhaps in the wilder- 
ness God had revealed to the soul of John the express 
image of His Son, just as He caused His goodness in the 
former times to pass before the eyes of Moses when the 
lawgiver in the desert prayed for a sight of His glory. 
There, in the solitudes of Judea, the form of Jesus may 
have risen before the hermit, and may have lingered in his 
memory up to the hour when the original appeared before 
him. It is written that ‘‘the pure in heart shall see God.” 
They always see Him. And if no vision rewarded the 
desire of John to see in advance the “ Blessed One,” may 
it not be that the purity of his heart opened his eyes to 
the Divine beauty that streamed from the person of the 
Nazarene ? Be this as it may, he knew Him, and bore no 
equivocal testimony to His claims. Yea, the very char- 
a3ter of his testimony was such that it could not but be 
regarded as trustworthy, and as eminently fitted to leave 
a deep impression on honest minds, however in the first 
instance it may have failed to carry conviction. Not only 
did he disavow all personal ambition for the honors due the 
Messiah; not only did he point out the inferiority of his 
work, as compared with that which should be done by his 
successor and superior; but he also recognized as inev- 


60 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


itable the decline of his influence and the growing power 
of Him whom he had introduced as the ‘‘Lamb of God.” 
“ He must increase, but I must decrease ” was the answer 
that he gave to his disciples, who were jealous for his 
reputation. Ancient Kingdoms rose on the downfall of 
preceding ones — a fact abundantly illustrated in the 
history of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome; and to-day 
one man’s fortune seems to be built on the ruin of others, 
and life itself is sustained at the cost of life to thousands. 
Property continually changes hands. The affluent families 
of one generation are the poor of the next, and the poor 
of the present will be the affluent of the future. Welling- 
ton becomes famous at the expense of Napoleon, and 
Grant at the expense of Lee; and thus, through all depart- 
ments of society, we find in operation the law of decrease 
and increase which John recognized. But for him to 
confess it as cheerfully and candidly as he did, is a matter 
of considerable significance. We are not ready, as a rule, 
to acquiesce in this provision of Providence, especially 
when it tells against our prominence and success. We 
are rather inclined to fret about it, and rebel against 
it. Not so the harbinger. And his acknowledgment of 
its justice in his case not only convinces us of his disin- 
terestedness and sincerity, but must have led those who 
heard him and venerated him, to ponder more thought- 
fully than they otherwise would the assumptions of the 
Being in whose favor it was made. 

It remains to be said that the death of John must have 
added weight to his testimony, and must have rendered 
the righteousness which he preached even more glorious 
in the eyes of the nation, and thus have facilitated the 
progress of Jesus. Arrested by Herod, who was living 
unlawfully with his brother’s wife, and who feared the 
political results of .lesus’ movement, he was confined in the 
gloomy prison of Machjerus. But even there he made 


A SEARCHING SERMON. 


61 


himself felt. Summoned to speak before the Court, 
possibly to entertain his lordly jailer and adulterous com- 
panion, he took for his text the words, ‘‘ It is not lawful 
for thee to have her.” What a discourse must have fol- 
lowed, as he denounced the treachery, cruelty, and lust 
of his dignified hearers. How their cheeks must have 
changed color and their hearts have trembled beneath the 
scathing rebukes of the rough man who spoke in a palace 
as he had in the wilderness, and who had not acquired the 
habit of whispering smooth and pleasant things in the ears 
of the great. Such fearlessness could not be tolerated by 
the guilty. Though it had not been without effect on 
Herod, it only served to rouse the fury of the devilish wo- 
man at his side. You are familiar with what followed. 
In an evil hour, betrayed by his lusts, the wretched ruler 
consented to the murder of the Baptist. The command 
was given, and in the darkness of his dungeon the faithful 
witness met the martyr’s death. His head was brought to 
Herod; but as he looked upon its silent, cold, scornful lips 
they must have seemed to murmur, “It is not lawful for 
thee to have her.” Never could he escape the echo of 
these words; and when he heard afterward of the mighty 
works of Jesus his startled conscience led him to fear that 
the murdered one had risen from the dead, and doubtless 
in his dreary exile, to which he was doomed when imperial 
favor was denied him, the mangled corpse of his victim 
must often have appeared blue and stark to his eyes: and 
in his dying moments the ghastly head of God’s butchered 
servant must have frowned through the gathering dark- 
ness, and its shriveled lips have shrieked once more in 
his ear, “ It is not lawful for thee to have her.” A death 
that could so powerfully affect him who was its imme- 
diate author, and the fact that it was the result of John’s 
unbending and unflinching righteousness, would naturally 


62 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


draw the attention of the community to the claims of that 
cause which had received his advocacy. 

My brethren, like John, you are the Lord’s forerunners. 
It is your duty to direct the mind of your neighbors to 
Jesus, to call on them to repent; and, by the clearness of 
your testimony, and the consistency of your life, to add 
force and authority to your words. Whatever vices or 
habits may obstruct the way of Jesus in His endeavor to 
save, you must protest against and seek to eradicate. This 
is your work; you must aim to promote every reform; not, 
however, merely for the reform’s sake, but that obstacles 
between the soul and its Savior may be removed. This is 
the message that John’s career bears to you; and you, who 
are not disciples, it comes to you preaching, as he did of 
old, “Repent: the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” At 
hand! Yes, near you — so near that even now you can 
grasp its blessings. But to do so you must repent; you 
must turn from sin; you must prepare the way in your 
heart, that Jesus may enter and manifest Himself both 
as your Friend and Redeemer. And if, at this hour, 
you shall put away evil from your thoughts and iniquity 
from your acts, in the wilderness of the soul shall His 
presence be immediately realized, and there shall that 
kingdom be reared which is neither “meat nor drink, but 
righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” 


V. 

THE BAPTISM OF JESUS. 


Jesus said, Sutler it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to 
fulfill all righteousness. — Matt, 15 , 

T he River Jordan, whose name “Descender” suggests 
its character, flows from the southern slopes of 
Lebanon, through two lakes, over twenty-seven rapids, 
and along a course so winding and tortuous that it trav- 
erses two hundred miles after it leaves Gennesareth in ac- 
complishing sixty of distance, and from its source sweeps 
downward until its waters merge with those of the Dead 
Sea at a depression of over 1,300 feet below the level of 
the Mediterranean. It may be likened to a child born of 
noble and unsullied ancestors who, forgetful of his origin, 
adopts a perverse and crooked way, and after falling into 
lower and yet lower depths of vice is finally hurled by the 
momentum of his wickedness into the invisible asphaltic 
floods where the stench of moral death rises forever and 
ever. Although the Jordan is an insignificant stream, 
and not worthy to be compared with the Nile, the Tiber, 
the Amazon, or Mississippi, nevertheless it is endeared to 
the Christian world by many venerable associations. Along 
its banks Lot and Abraham wandered in the olden times; 
near to one of its fords Jacob wrestled with the angel of 
God; through its miraculously-parted waters Joshua led 
the triumphant hosts of Israel; in its bosom Naaman, the 
leper, found cleansing; across its narrow channel David 
passed once as a soldier, and again as a fugitive; and on 
its glassy surface Elijah cast his wonder-working mantle. 
The horses of Sesostris slaked their thirst in its cooling 

63 


64 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


floods; the armies of Sennacherib encamped on its plains, 
which were to the eyes of Lot as the garden of the Lord; 
the blood of the Ephraimites reddened its waves; and the 
spears of the Amalekite, the Saracen, and the Crusader 
glittered and flashed in the surges of its tide. But, after 
all, it is neither the glories of these embattled hosts nor 
the marvels of ancient Jewish history that invest the 
sacred river with its chief interest to the serious soul. It 
is rather its intimate connection with the beginning of the 
Gospel and with the manifestation of Jesus as the Messiah 
that imparts to the Jordan its peculiar charm. On its 
shores Heaven’s Kingdom first was preached; in its waters 
the earliest disciples confessed their sins; and in its liquid 
grave the Son of Mary was buried, that from thence arising 
He might be saluted by the descending Spirit as the Son 
of God. These are the associations that exalt the Jordan 
above all other rivers, and that sanctify it to the imagina- 
tion and the heart of the religious world. 

John’s preaching is expressly called ‘‘the beginning of 
the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” and it is explicitly declared 
that “the Law and the Prophets were until John,” and that 
since that time “the Kingdom of God is preached.” It is 
also written: “From the days of John the Baptist until 
now the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the 
violent take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law 
prophesied until John.” {See Mark ^, 1 ; Luke xvi, 16 ; 
Matt, ^c^, 12 y 13.) It would appear, then, from these 
passages that the Harbinger came to inaugurate the Mes- 
siah’s reign on earth, and that as this reign is internal, in 
the heart of the believer, and external, in the community 
of the faithful, he contributed to the first by the ethical 
change which he commanded, and to the second by the 
ceremonial ordinance which he administered. John came 
“to make ready a people prepared for the Lord,” and 
he did so by giving them “ the knowledge of salvation in 


THE NEW KINGDOM. 


65 


the remission of their sins,” and by teaching, “He that 
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that 
believeth not on the Son shall not see life, but the wrath 
of God abideth on him.” {Ijiike ^, 17, 77/ John Hi, 36.) 
Thus he opened the hearts of his hearers to the new era, 
turned them from sin to righteousness, and inclined them 
to receive Jesus as the guide and principle of their inner 
life. But to give to the company of those who thus 
accepted the Messiah fellowship with each other, to 
discriminate them from the impenitent around them, and 
to impart to their subjection and allegiance outward form 
and visibility, he instituted, on the authority of Heaven, 
the rite of baptism. In this manner the essential features 
of the Divine Kingdom were revealed to men, and were 
expressively symbolized; and however these may have been 
supplemented by others during the personal ministries of 
Christ and His apostles, and however they may have been 
perfected subsequently by additional and profounder 
knowledge of grace, and by completer and minuter 
organization, they were designed to remain, and in fact do 
remain, the distinctive signs of the nature and the presence 
of that Kingdom on earth. 

I shall not undertake to discuss the character of the 
ordinance which John administered, for it is my opinion if 
less ink had been employed in the controversy and more 
charity the Christian community would not have been so 
sadly divided on the subject as it has been. It may be 
enough to say that the meaning of the word which de- 
scribes the act, the localities where it was originally per- 
formed, the circumstances attending it, the symbolization 
involved in it, and the views of the most scholarly men in 
Christendom, all point to the conclusion that John immersed 
his disciples, and that immersion is the true form of 
Scriptural baptism. With this hasty generalization, I may 
be permitted to address myself to the main question 
5 


66 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


brought to our attention by the text, and which it is my 
desire to examine. Why was our Savior baptized? 
Why was He who acknowledged no sin and who committed 
none subject to the same rite which was restricted by 
John to penitents? Why should He, the spotless Lamb of 
God, who had no iniquity to confess, tread the same road 
with publicans and sinners? The harbinger himself was 
perplexed by His condescension, and would have had it 
otherwise. ‘‘John forbade Him, saying, I have need to be 
baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me ? ” ^Matthew 
IJf.) Evidently, the servant was not reconciled to 
the humiliation of the Master. He discerned in Him a 
purity that was not of earth; and though he had never 
met Him before, at least in later years, so that it was true, 
as the Evangelist records, that He was a stranger to him, 
and though he would not avow his convictions regarding 
Him until he had received the promised sign of identifica- 
tion from Heaven {John i, S3), nevertheless, he recog- 
nized in Him a moral splendor, which His mean surround- 
ings could not obscure, and which compelled the belief 
that He was none other than the Promised One. But why 
should He be baptized? Jesus answers: “Thus it be- 
cometh us to fulfill all righteousness.” Righteousness — 
what righteousness ? Olshausen tells us in his Commentary 
that this word is equivalent to dikaion, and signifies “ w’hat 
the law demands.” But what law is it that requires 
baptism? Not the Moral Law, for that has nothing to do 
with ceremonies; not the Levitical, either in its application 
to private individuals or official personages, for that never 
enjoined such a rite as John administered; and if neither 
of these can be intended, it necessarily follows that the 
law referred to is that of the new dispensation of the 
Kingdom of Heaven which the forerunner preached and 
inaugurated. Our Savior submitted to all of the divine 
requirements, whatever might be their character. Being 


CHRIST’S BAPTISM. 


67 


a man, He obeyed the moral law; being an Israelite, He 
observed the ceremonial law of His nation; and, being the 
Chief and King of a New Empire, it is reasonable to sup- 
pose that He would not fail to honor its precepts and 
sanction its institutions. To suppose otherwise is to imply 
that He attached less importance to the positive enact- 
ments of His own kingdom than He did to those of the 
old theocracy; and it is to assume that He could have 
undertaken the administration of its affairs without iden- 
tifying Himself, as others had done, with its interests. 
Neither of these conjectures is admissible; and it there- 
fore follows that Jesus was bound by His relations to the 
Gospel economy to uphold the authority of its ordinances, 
and to render them the homage of His personal obedience. 

Looked at in this light, Christ’s baptism must be regarded, 
first of all, as a solemn ratification of what had been done by 
the Harbinger. The kingdom John proclaimed, whatever 
else it was or was not, was certainly a kingdom of righteous- 
ness. He admitted no one to its privileges or to the ranks 
of its citizens who had not repented of sin and furnished 
evidence of moral amendment. Expression to this ethical 
spirit was given in baptism. By the burial of the penitent 
in water and his rising again the declaration was made 
that he was dead to his old life of transgression, and was 
alive forevermore to righteousness. The idea of cleansing 
had for a long time been associated with water, and it is 
the judgment of some writers that this is the sole and ex- 
clusive idea set forth by John’s baptism. But if this were 
so, then the ordinance he administered was only a continu- 
ation of ceremonial washings in use among his country- 
men, and was not in any real sense a new institution. In 
my opinion this misapprehension is the result of fixing the 
attention too exclusively on the element employed, and 
not at all on the action. Water taken by itself may 
denote purity; but when it is not self-applied by the can- 


68 


JESUS THE world’s SAYIOR. 


didate, and when the manner in which it is used suggests 
some other thought, or modification of thought, we are 
bound to believe that some variation from it is intended. 
Hence, when we find John immersing, and when we sub- 
sequently find the apostles alluding to baptism as a burial, 
we cannot but conclude that while the element employed 
expresses the idea of purity, the action itself denotes a 
death and a resurrection — death to sin, resurrection to 
righteousness. Now, it is well to remember that on this 
supposition the character of the kingdom to which the 
ordinance stands related as a sign must correspond to its 
meaning. When Jesus was baptized He conlcssed no sin, 
for He was not conscious of sin and had none to confess; 
but by this conspicuous omission when submitting to the 
rite. He not only proclaimed His own absolute deadness to 
every motion of iniquity. He also confirmed John’s concep- 
tion of the Kingdom of Heaven among men. By this act 
He practically declared, as the forerunner had taught, and 
as He Himself subsequently explicitly taught, that the 
principles, doctrines, measures, and observances of the new 
economy are in harmony with the spirit of holiness, and 
that only those who cherish this spirit are entitled to be 
received into its membership. Throughout the Gospels 
and Epistles these ideas become more and more distinct, 
and are blended with every representation made of the 
Christian community. It is said that the ropes both large 
and small used by the royal marine of England are so 
made that a red thread runs through them from end to 
end, and that it is so twisted in them that it cannot be ex- 
tracted without undoing the whole. This is a measure of 
precaution against dishonesty, and enables the Government 
to identify its property anywhere. In this manner right- 
eousness is interwoven with every >description' of the king- 
dom, and with every allusion to its character. In treating 
of its most important or most insignificant aspects; and in 


ASSUMII^’G SOVEREIGNTY. 


69 


dealing with its marvelous or commonplace phases, the 
inspired writers interblend unfailingly this supreme charac- 
teristic; and it is so intertwined with its very existence 
that it cannot be separated without destroying the king- 
dom itself. Let us then learn from Christ’s baptism that 
righteousness is essential to religion, that the one has no 
place apart from the other, and that every church assum- 
ing to be an exponent of the latter should never receive 
into its fellowship any but those who are devoted to the 
former. 

The baptism of Jesus must also be viewed as an im- 
pressive manifestation of His exalted dignity. Profession 
is an idea that enters into the very nature of the rite. 
The people who originally submitted to it avowed their 
faith in Him who was to come [Acts xix, J), as they who 
do so now express their faith in Him as having already 
come. They alike acknowledge Him as their Savior, and 
themselves to be His disciples. They thus manifest what 
they are' and the allegiance which they bear. It was then 
fitting that Jesus should employ the same means when 
putting forth His claims, and in assuming His sublime 
position as Messiah. The conviction of His vocation 
which, asT have already argued in a previous discourse, 
had been growing, now had reached its climax, and it was 
imperative that it should be outwardly declared. He does 
not come among the expecting converts, asserting in so 
many words His official rank, but treads the path' which 
they had trodden. His act they would interpret as a pro- 
fession of something, and as He made no confession of sin 
they must have felt that it was of something in which 
they had no share. Doubtless they did not understand 
Him; but He evidently understood Himself. As a ruler 
of a nation must first be recognized as a citizen, and as he 
must in some form subscribe to its constitution and laws, 
so Jesus knew that before He could exercise sovereignty 


70 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


in the Gospel Kingdom He must be enrolled among its 
members and subscribe to its doctrines and institutions. 
This He did in baptism, thereby meaning to manifest His 
kingship, as the people in the same ordinance had mani- 
fested their citizenship. And that which He thus did as a 
duty to Himself, to His Father, and to the world, became 
the medium of His identification and recognition by those 
who were looking for the “Consolation of Israel.” 

Remember that it was predicted by Isaiah that the 
Messiah should be anointed by the Spirit of God, and you 
will understand why John expected to behold the sign of 
the “Spirit descending and remaining on Him” (John 
S3'). We cannot suppose that up to the hour of His bap- 
tism Jesus had been a stranger to the Divine influences; 
but only that they had not in all of their fullness been 
conferred. When, however. He was buried beneath the 
waves of Jordan the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit 
descended on Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice 
was heard exclaiming, “This is My beloved Son, in whom 
I am well pleased” (Luke Hi, 22; Matt. Hi, 17). Then 
was the prophecy of Isaiah accomplished. But who heard 
the voice, who saw the dove? Jesus heard. John saw. 
God had spoken in other ages, and to other men, but 
never such words as these. In the olden times He had 
charioted Himself “in the thunder of the echoing rocks 
around,” and had drawn near to the trembling multitudes 
in the wilderness. But the very sound of His voice was 
unendurable; there was not a note in all the gamut of 
human feeling that it did not touch, and not a discord in 
human fear that it did not evoke, so that the people cried 
out, “ Let not God speak to us lest we die.” His words 
then were like the flames that accompanied them, like the 
crashing noise of quaking mountains, and like the blind- 
ing, swirling, appalling smoke which hovered threateningly 
around them. They were as fire for purity, and as fire 


THE WORDS OF GOD. 


71 


they scorched all self-righteousness and vanity; and they 
were as midnight to the soul, for the law of duty which 
they declared was so perfect that no earthly creature could 
ever hope to comply with its requirements and escape its 
penalty. Ah ! how marked the contrast between His 
speech to Moses at Sinai and His approval of Jesus com- 
municated to Jesus at the River Jordan ! As gentle as the 
dove, as low and soft as the soothing zephyr, as musical as 
the stars, as silent and yet as clear as inarticulate thought 
sounded His testimony in the human soul of Jesus: “Thou 
art my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” If doubts 
yet lingered concerning His character and calling; if fears 
yet strove with dawning hopes, like storm-clouds with the 
sun-rise, and if His consciousness of personal alliance with 
the Infinite was yet thwarted and eclipsed by counter-mo- 
tions in Himself, how this Divine voice must have calmed, 
assured, strengthened, enlightened, and confirmed. As it 
sounded in His soul sweeter than choirs of angels, and 
noiseless as the midnight silence, all apprehensions and 
uncertainties must have disappeared. He must have felt 
Himself transcending the limitations of time and space, 
and have realized in Himself the sense of ubiquity and 
eternity. He must have been exalted as on the wings of 
the dove from the commonplace about Him to the mys- 
terious, from the earthly to the heavenly, from the human 
to the Divine; yea. He must have realized the enlinking 
of the Divine and human in Himself, and His eternal heir- 
ship to that Throne whose dominion is as boundless as the 
universe, and whose universe is measureless infinitude. 

Jesus heard, but John saw. Saw — what? The Spirit 
in dove-like form descending, the evangelist seems to 
teach. But how came he to see what those about him saw 
not ? I cannot tell. Perhaps he was the only being pre- 
pared for such a vision. Or it may be that we do not 
understand the narrative, and that we take too literally 


72 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


what may be after all but a comparison. Be that as it 
may, the harbinger received the promised token, and doing 
so all hesitancy ended; and when the hour for the sign 
arrived, he pointed to Jesus and exclaimed: “Behold the 
Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world.” 
Thus was the Messiah manifested to Israel; and thus, my 
people, does it come to pass that, receiving the attestation 
of the Holy Spirit in baptism, your character is elevated 
and your conduct beautified, and the divine life in you is 
disclosed to the world so that at least your way is open, 
as Christ’s was opened, to a ministry of suffering goodness. 

And this brings me to a final reflection. The baptism 
of Jesus will not be fully understood unless, in addition to 
what has already been advanced, it is regarded as a formal 
consecration to His work. This it evidently was. By this 
act He commits Himself to the new movement, abandons 
His past retirement, and publicly assumes the responsibili- 
ties of His mission. His baptism is a line of separation 
between His life in Nazareth and His life as the Savior of 
mankind. Henceforward He has only one object before 
Him — the redemption of the race — and to that He de- 
votes himself unreservedly. In the Jordan He buries the 
carpenter and the peasant, and from the Jordan He rises 
the Messiah and the Mediator. He is no longer the merely 
contemplative, serious, and apparently aimless villager, 
but the vigorous, active, earnest leader, concentrating His 
mighty soul on the accomplishment of a work which en- 
listed the sympathy of angels, and which has won for Him 
the homage of human gratitude and praise. As baptism 
compromised the Jews who received it, pledged them to the 
support of the Heavenly Kingdom, and dedicated them 
soul and body to its welfare, so would it be understood to 
set Jesus absolutely apart to its high demands. This He 
unquestionably realized, and hence the deep significance 
which attaches to His submission to the ordinance. To 


MISSION OF THE BAPTIZED. 


73 


behold Him calmly and deliberately abandoning home and 
friends, turning His placid face in the direction of the 
cross, and in the water meekly expressing His entire self- 
surrender even to its mysterious and inexpressible anguish, 
is to contemplate the finest and grandest picture imagina- 
ble. Yea, rather the noblest and sublimest reality of his- 
tory conceivable. 

Ah! sacred Jordan that didst welcome Him to thy 
bosom, that didst swallow Him up as the grave did at last 
in victory, no wonder that thou too didst turn prophet, and 
in restoring Him from thy liquid tomb didst foreshadow 
His triumph over death and His resurrection from the 
dead! Thou dumb witness of His consecration, even thou 
couldst not refuse thy mute testimony to His ultimate and 
eternal exaltation ! And as thou hast been, so shall bap- 
tism be through all ages, the pure, radiant, and perpetual 
sign of His glorious conquest over His grim conqueror. 
Wherever administered, whether in stately church or in 
lowly limpid stream, thy voice, louder than “ the voice of 
many waters,” shall proclaim that He who lived and was 
dead, is now alive, and liveth for evermore. 

What baptism was to John’s disciples and to Jesus, 
it is now to believers. It is the sign of our separation 
from the world, arid of our self-devotion to the Heavenly 
Kingdom. It means that we, too, at last have found 
an object worthy of our thoughts, our endeavors, and 
our sacrifices, and that we give ourselves unqualifiedly 
to its attainment. The ceremony by which we record our 
vow likewise expresses our new aim in life. In it we 
behold figured to the eye a burial and a resurrection; and 
it is to the work of quickening the morally dead that we 
dedicate ourselves. We go forth from our formal conse- 
cration to overcome spiritual death in others, to strengthen 
belief in immortality, and to assure the afflicted that they 
who sleep in the dust of the earth shall rise again. Every 


74 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


one who has received the sacred rite of baptism has pub- 
licly surrendered himself — everything that enters into 
self, whether personal endowments or possessions — to this 
glorious cause; and every one who would be true to his 
profession will not withhold anything he calls his own 
that may contribute to its blissful triumph. 

Were I to take a magic-lantern it would be necessary, 
if I would cast an image on a surface, to see that a light 
was in the lantern, and that the receiving surface was 
white and stainless. The picture to be reproduced might 
be in its place, but, apart from these conditions, its trans- 
mission would be impossible. We have tried this evening 
to present the Gospel portraiture of our Lord’s baptism in 
this discourse as in a magic-lantern, and we have hoped 
that the Divine Spirit would so illuminate it that its sig- 
sificance would be conveyed to your soul, and the act, 
indeed, be honored in your life. But such results de- 
pend on the purity of your spirit and the sincerity of 
your desires. No white surface, no image, is the law of 
the lantern, and it is equally the law of the heart. If you 
have experienced the grace of God in conversion, if you 
have been washed in the Savior’s blood, then our Lord’s 
baptism has come to you as a pattern of your own. You 
have received it as an example of what you should do to 
be, as He was, on the side of righteousness, and to show 
forth, as He did, your consecration to the service of God 
and man. Is it too much to expect that, seeing these 
things, you will hasten to do them; that you will no 
longer hesitate to follow where He has led, and where un- 
questionably the path of duty lies? Those of you, my 
hearers, who have never turned from sin I do not expect 
to appreciate these words; but if you have any desire to 
pursue a religious life let me exhort you to seek the great 
heart-preparation, and then will you be able with gladness 
to take up your cross in holy baptism. 


VI. 

THE TEMPTATION OF JESHS. 


Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be 
tempted of the Devil. — Matt, iv, 1. 

I T is related by Rufinus that a hermit, favorably known 
and famous for his asceticism, was tempted and sub- 
dued in the wilderness, to whose friendly solitudes he had 
fled for repose from the allurements of society. On his 
distempered mind there arose the vision of a form, fair 
and beautiful, perhaps like one beloved in youthful days, 
whose smile rekindled the smothered fires of human pas- 
sion, and whose touch, illusive though it was, roused the 
old affections long thought dead. Overcome by the awak- 
ened sense of personal frailty, and convinced that rocks 
and caves afford no shelter from stormful evil, and no bar- 
rier against the influx of earthly seductions, he turned his 
back upon the desert, and rushed into the surging crowds 
of the great world again. Similar is the lesson taught by 
George Ebers in his striking fact-fiction, entitled Homo 
Sum. Two aged anchorites are represented as dwelling 
apart in Nature’s solitudes, as struggling fiercely with in- 
bred iniquity, and as coming to believe, at last, that fast- 
ings and cruel scourgings had driven from their soul the 
foul and stubborn foe. But in this impression they were 
miserably at fault. Even in their wretched isolation, self- 
exiled from the charms of time and sense, and with their 
thoughts centered in heavenly things, temptation assailed 
them, and they were made to realize that man is never 
safe from its debasing influences. Pious Paulus is betrayed 
into courses foreign to his ascetic vow, and dies in his cave 

75 


76 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


upon his knees, wrestling with the flesh, having traced 
upon the wall in charcoal a request for remembrance in 
the intercessory supplications of the devout; and saintly 
Stephanus ends his life with his fingers clutching the 
throat of an enemy, who years before had done him wrong, 
whom he had tried to forgive, but whose unexpected ap- 
pearance had in a moment quenched his generous impulses, 
and kindled in him such a spirit of revenge that he thrusts 
him back from the rocks which he is climbing into the 
abyss below, and, as he is being dragged down with his 
adversary to a terrible death, he cries out to those who 
entreat him to forgive, “He shall be damned; he shall be 
damned ! ” 

Into the wilderness went Jesus immediately after His 
baptism, not to escape, but to meet temptation. This, 
however, was no purpose of His own, but of the Spirit 
that influenced Him. Doubtless the incoming of Heaven’s 
power and those approving words uttered by Heaven’s 
voice agitated and overwhelmed His human soul so that 
He craved to be alone — alone that He might give expres- 
sion to His deep and strange emotions, and alone that He 
might regain the composure which His work so impera; 
tively demanded. Whither He was led we know not. 
The sacred writers simply say the “wilderness;” but from 
the added statement of Mark that wild beasts were with 
Him, we infer that it was some lonely spot apart from the 
habitations of man, and even more desolate than that 
desolate region where John first proclaimed the kingdom 
of heaven. Tradition has located the scene in the neigh- 
borhood of Jericho, on a storm-lacerated mountain known 
to travelers by the name of “ Quarantania,” and which, 
from its grandeur, might well serve as an altar of prayer, 
and, from its savageness, prove a fit resort for devils. This 
may or may not have been the battleground chosen for the 
conflict between the representatives of light and darkness, 


TEMPTATIONS EVERYWHERE. 


77 


nor is it necessary that we commit ourselves on a matter 
so indistinct; but it is certain, wherever it was, that there 
no living beauty refreshed the eye, and no dreamy loveli- 
ness invited to repose. It is enough for us to know that 
in some such place as this Satan sought to beguile, en- 
snare, and destroy the Son of God. Well mav we believe, 
however, that this was not his sole attempt to dethrone the 
moral majesty of Jesus. Luke suggests a subsequent 
attack, when chronicling the issue of the struggle, for he 
says that the devil left Jesus for a season; and Jesus Him- 
self seems to anticipate a recurrence of his assaults, when 
just before entering Gethsemane, He utters the words, 
“The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in 
me.” It would seem, then, that no spot, however retired 
or sacred, was respected by the genius of evil, and that no 
circumstances, however solemn and pathetic, assured im- 
munity from peril. Such being the case, surely none of 
us ought to imagine himself secure, and none ought for a 
single moment to be unprayerful and unwatchful. If the 
wilderness was invaded, if the influences of baptism, and 
of forty days’ uninterrupted communion with the Invisible, 
were not sufflcient to restrain and overawe the enemy, it is 
not likely that the mad whirl of city life, and the brief, 
broken seasons of devotion, which alone seem possible, 
can afford us adequate protection. The fact is, we are at 
all times in danger. In the rural home of childhood, in 
the pleasant haunts of youth, in the delightful associations 
of friendship, as well as in crowded thoroughfares, and in the 
gilded halls of amusement, the tempter prowls and skulks. 
He whispers his fatal suggestion to the young man in the 
counting-room, which if heeded will brand him forever 
with the name of thief ; he insinuates his corrupting 
images among the pure ideals of maidenhood; he mingles 
his foul blasphemies with the reverent thoughts of devoutest 
souls; and in the street, at the fireside, in the country or 


78 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


in the city, in the church or at the grave — yea, wherever 
humanity toils, rests, laughs, or mourns, he is spreading 
his net, and insidiously is plying his hellish craft. This 
much we may learn from the legends we have recited, and 
from the experience of Jesus; and this may convince us 
that we have more than a speculative interest in the sub- 
ject of our present discourse, and incline us to derive from 
its discussion such lessons as may help us to defend our- 
selves against the powers of darkness. 

You have not overlooked, I am sure, what is so forbid- 
ding in this narrative — that the Spirit of God leads Jesus 
into the wilderness for the purpose of exposing Him to 
the onset of Satan. Modify and soften the representation 
as we may, still it remains, arousing in us strange thoughts 
and painful suspicions. We remember it is written that 
“God tempteth no man,” and when we read what appears 
to contradict this statement we can hardly refrain from 
challenging its accuracy. But may we not be identifying 
things that differ? God tempts no one to sin; but He 
certainly tests all men in the interests of righteousness. 
The trial may terminate in failure, and, on account of this 
contingency, may properly be called a temptation; and 
even when it results in victory the peculiar peril involved 
will justify the employment of this term. It is the pur- 
pose of God that every soul shall fight its way to Heaven. 
From the beginning of the race to the present, moral 
strength has been developed through conflict with evil. 
The world is but an arena of strife. Each infant is a 
new-born gladiator, earth is an amphitheater reeking with 
blood, and spiritual manhood is achieved through encoun- 
ters with men and devils more terrible and ferocious than 
savage beasts. Adam was tried in Paradise and succumbed; 
Christ was tried in the desert and overcame; and, in over- 
coming, His righteousness took on a more decisive charac- 
ter, and by revealing to Him the inexhaustibleness of His 


TESTIIn^G akd trying. 


79 


resources, nerved and prepared Him for His ministry of 
suffering and sacrifice. Athletes are not sent to the race 
without previous training and testing of their powers of en- 
durance. Vessels are not sent to sea without first examin- 
ing their qualities and ascertaining their deficiencies; and, 
indeed, everything must, in the course of events, be proved; 
everything, from a bridge to an army, and from a cannon 
to a soldier, should be carefully tried before the final 
ordeal and peril arrives. We iron-plate a ship, and then 
we pound away at it to decide how many inches of metal 
and of what texture are needed to resist successfully the 
mightiest projectiles. Thus the Father exposes His Son 
to the assaults of Hell, that He may be thoroughly tried 
before He goes forth into the great world to take the 
offensive against its combined and intrenched iniquities. 
And thus does He prove every man who is capable of 
grand deeds and ennobling endeavors. The rule of God’s 
providence is: “He that is faithful in that which is least, 
is faithful also in much; if, therefore,. ye have not been 
faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to 
your trust the true riches?” Society likewise is practi- 
cally governed by the same law. In humbler stations 
men are being disciplined for higher ones; they are put 
on trial for something better; they are made to pass 
through fiery ordeals, that they may verify their worthi- 
ness and capabilities. If, however, like the lotus-eaters, 
they idly lull themselves to dreamy sleep, all experiments 
will be wasted on them, and they will either fall into crime 
and dishonor, or they will remain forever stationary in 
their subordinate positions. It is rather God’s will that 
they should be like Ulysses, whom neither ocean’s storms 
nor Neptune’s hatred could dismay, and who, through all 
perils, pursued his voyage, and having guided his bark 
between Scylla and Charybdis, and having resisted alike 
the Siren’s song and Calypso’s wooing, deserved to regain 


80 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR 


his vine*clad home and the loving welcome of his faithful 
wife. 

The form of our Lord’s temptation has occasioned con- 
siderable discussion. Interpreters to whom nothing is 
real that is not objectively literal, regard the account as 
strictly historical, and they do not hesitate to declare that 
any other view strikes at the reality of the fact itself. 
But other expositors differ from them. Schleiermacher 
sees in the record a description of an inward struggle; 
and Calvin taught the same before him; while Neander 
expresses the opinion that we have in it a historical ver- 
ity, conveyed to us through the medium of symbol. Such 
is my own impression. An actual and painful conflict is 
here set before us in such terms as render it vivid to the 
least discerning mind; but to go farther, and assume that 
all was external and visible, is to create the suspicion that 
the power of temptation resides in the outward circum- 
stances, and that only when something of the same kind 
takes place in our life will we be in moral peril. When 
the objective interpretation is insisted on, how reasonable 
to conclude that the merciful God will not permit the 
spirit of evil to approach in form less visible than it 
assumed when seeking fo divert Christ from His saving 
mission. Such a delusion I dare not encourage; it is 
ruinous. The most injurious and potent physical agencies 
are unseen. The cold and cheerless wind, phantom of the 
buried winter, that sweeps over our gardens in the spring- 
time and arrests the growth of vegetation, is not visible 
to sight; and the sewer-gas, that creeps into our chambers 
and broods over our sleeping hours, and noiselessly wraps 
us around in the cerements of death, is veiled to our eyes 
and hidden from our touch. Maleficent moral influences 
are equally subtle, insidious, and concealed. When least 
suspected, some potent seduction may stream into the 
soul, undermining its fair resolves and luring to destruc- 


PERSONALITY OF SATAN. 


81 


tion. Like the fabled lodestone mountain, which, it is 
said, by a secret force drew from voyaging vessels every 
particle of iron, so the attractiveness of unnoticed evil 
may gradually eliminate the iron of virtue from character, 
and leave it, like the ill-fated ship, a wrecked and wretched 
thing. Let me pray you, then, not to expect an outward 
manifestation ; rather be upon your guard against sugges- 
tions and solicitations that proceed from hidden sources — 
sources that elude the keenest scrutiny. 

Permit me, also, at this point, to remind you that the 
malignancy of temptation does not depend on your belief 
in the personality of Satan. Some persons deny his exist- 
ence; and it has seemed to me, from the joy expressed 
with the denial, that it is regarded as disproving the real- 
ity of sin’s serpent-like fascinations. But this is a mis- 
take. The thing to be dreaded is here, as we know from 
experience, whether embodied in a fallen archangel or not. 
If we follow the Bible strictly, we shall scarcely doubt the 
existence in our world of a supremely wicked agent, who 
is seeking to corrupt and to destroy. But on the supposi- 
tion that we have taken its representations too literally, 
does that lessen in any perceptible degree the fact that 
there is in the earth a potent something that makes for 
unrighteousness? Define it as you please, the reality is 
unquestionable. Admitting that it is the spiritual atmos- 
phere which has been formed by the iniquities of buried 
generations, or the shadows of all the transgressions com- 
mitted deepening into darkness, or the moral contagion of 
vice, or the distillation of its essence, will any practical 
advantage be gained thereby? None that I can detect. 
Theology may gain something by the denial of Satan’s per- 
sonality, but human life is not benefited. There might just 
as well be a literal Devil as an actual Hell of evil among 
men. You may blot out belief in the existence of the first, 
but all your speculations cannot extinguish the fires of the 
6 


82 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


second. Judged likewise by reason, it seems probable that 
we should receive the Scripture testimony on this subject 
just as it reads. There are not a few human devils in the 
world; foul, malignant creatures, who delight in mis- 
chief. Many of them were once comparatively upright, 
but they kept not their first estate. They fell, and, like 
the ruined angels, now find pleasure in trying to drag 
others down to their miserable level. Providence does 
not wholly discard them, but uses them, in spite of them- 
selves, to develop good in others. Their vile scavenger 
work only bespatters themselves with filth, and brings 
into clearer relief the virtues they would blacken. The 
stars are not dimmed by the envious clouds of night, they 
are simply obscured for a moment, and will break forth 
again in lustrous brightness; and the diamond is not 
injured by the gutter into which it may be hurled by hate, 
but will shine there as radiantly as in a regal crown. So 
the power of these human devils is not equal to their mali- 
ciousness, but is overruled, and is oftentimes made tribu- 
tary to the growth and expansion of those graces which 
adorn the saintly soul. But if such mortal fiends traverse 
the earth, seeking whom they may devour, the existence 
of one superior to them all, of higher rank and different 
nature, who is prowling in search of prey, and who, at last, 
to the infinite relief of the universe, will swallow up his 
pernicious allies, ceases to be incredible. 

The manner and method of Christ’s temptation are 
fully as important to understand as the form. You will 
observe that Satan approaches Him as a friend. He finds 
Him hungering, and kindly points out how bread can be 
obtained; he finds Him asserting a great claim, and he in- 
dicates how it can be verified; and he finds Him on the 
threshold of a magnificent enterprise, and he shows how it 
can be made immediately successful. His words are, there- 
fore, respectful, his advice plausible and apparently well 


GOETHE’S FAUST. 


83 


grounded in Holy Writ; and, as Shakespeare says of 
Gloster, he “seems a saint when most he plays the devil.” 
And it is generally thus. When temptation seeks to 
seduce from duty it comes as an angel of light, with smil- 
ing face and honeyed words. Of this we have an admir- 
able illustration in the writings of Goethe. Faust, the 
hero of Marlowe’s celebrated tragedy, as well as of the 
German poet’s drama, drinks deeply of the spirit of his 
master, Mephistopheles, and beguiles innocent Margaret 
to her destruction through an assumption of goodness 
which he is far from possessing. Startled by some things 
he has said, Margaret replies: 

“ How is it with religion in your mind? 

You are, ’tis true, a good, kind-hearted man; 

But I’m afraid not piously inclined.” 

He answers that he would not deprive any one of either 
church or creed. But this does not satisfy her, and she 
asks directly whether he believes in God or not. Where- 
upon he speaks eloquently, but vaguely, of impenetrable 
agencies which may be variously called “ bliss,” “ heart,” 
“love,” “God”— 

“ Name is but a sound and smoke 
Shrouding the glow of heaven.” 

Margaret, perplexed by his mystifying language, exclaims: 

“What thus I hear 

Sounds plausible, yet I’m not reconciled ; 

There’s something wrong about it ; much I fear 

That thou art not a Christian.” 

To which her lover responds, in a reproachful, half-offended 
way: 

“ My sweet child ! ” 

Better would it have been for her to have taken counsel 
of her doubts; then would she have saved her honor, her 


84 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


reason, and life. But she did not; and the arts that ruined 
her have ruined thousands. What wreck is there drifting 
on the social sea that was not shattered on hidden rocks, 
when influenced to steer out of ordinary channels to seek 
success by some shorter passage ? Is there a living corpse 
that was not deceived by the gaudy beauty of the flower, 
whose fragrant breath was poison to the soul? Is there 
one poor, fallen wretch who was not charmed to ruin by 
the enchanter “whose song is death and makes destruction 
please?” No; not one. The same story is related by 
every outcast, by every outlaw, by every befouled and 
erring creature. Temptation came in an unlooked-for 
hour, with the features of a saint, the tongue of a rhetori- 
cian, the hand of a sympathizer — but with the heart of a 
devil. 

To comprehend the method of Satan we must bear in 
mind that a sinful disposition is not the only avenue of 
approach to the soul. Indeed, the more corrupt it is, the 
less necessity for him to interfere; for it will work out a 
sad destiny unaided. The master mischief-maker rather 
assails the innocent, and aims to overthrow the upright. 
No glory is won from blows inflicted on a fallen foe. It is 
the enemy, armed and active, on whom he opens fire or 
surprises in the night. This explains why he so persist- 
ently besieged our Lord. To subdue the righteousness of 
the Prince of Righteousness w^ere to secure everlasting 
fame, and to subvert the innocence of the Innocent, to 
crown himself with lurid honors. But how could he ob- 
tain access to a sinless soul ? How open the mysterious 
gates when not a traitor exists to sell the key ? The an- 
swer is, by other approaches to the citadel of virtue than 
either inbred or developed iniquity; for such there are, 
and three of them are revealed in the narrative we are 
studying. They are: 

The instinct of self-preservation. 


THE tempter’s METHODS. 


85 


The feeling of self-confidence. 

The hope of self-aggrandizement. 

Jesus had fasted long, and, being weakened in body 
and yearning for food, Satan counted on His yielding. 
There is no sin in hunger, though it often leads to sin, and 
hence the tempter said: “If Thou be the Son of God, 
command that these stones be made bread.” No harm 
apparently could come from the miraculous supply of 
pressing want, and physical infirmity would plead for the 
employment of this means. And yet, sent as He was to 
use His resources exclusively for the good of others, and 
forbidden by a Divine law from delivering Himself by 
supernatural means, whether in the wilderness or on the 
cross, had He consented He would have incurred the guilt 
of the man who, for the sake of preserving life, sets at 
defiance God’s ordinary commandments. Bread is an im- 
perative necessity. This Jesus doubtless realized, though 
never for a moment wavering or gravitating toward the 
sin of Esau, who, for a morsel of food, sold his birthright. 
The instinct of self-preservation often leads to crime. 
Victor Hugo’s Jean Valjean is the type of a numerous 
class, who, to perpetuate their own lives or to save that of 
others, trample on the law and do violence to right. Many 
a youth and maiden have fallen into evil courses, seeking 
to make bread out of the hard stones of vice and dishonesty, 
because they and theirs were starving. We cannot but 
pity while we condemn them; and we can but palliate, 
while we dare not justify. This, however, is a road to ruin 
that a majority of our race need not tread, and a road by 
which comparatively few reach their degraded doom. 

Self-confidence is a more common and less excusable 
pathway to the abyss. It is written that the tempter took 
Jesus into the Holy City and placed Him on a pinnacle of 
the temple, by the literalists supposed to be the roof of the 
Stoa Basilik^, or Royal Porch, that looked sheer down 


86 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


into the Vale of Kedron, and urged Him to cast Himself 
from the height, as God had promised to bear Him up by 
angel hands. Satan in this particular spoke the truth. 
Had Jesus complied He might have expected that His de- 
liverance would have convinced the people of His Divine 
Sonship. But He knew that such presumption would not 
win His Father’s approval. God had assured Him of help 
in every hour of need; but He would not be blameless if 
He first created the need and then asked the help. De- 
liberately to make the danger and then call for deliverance 
would have evinced the most unwarranted self-assurance, 
as though He could play with the Divinely settled order of 
government. At critical moments in His ministry Jesus 
was not lacking in self-confidence, and, on account of its 
strength in Him, Satan hoped to triumph ; but as it was 
far from self-assertion. He was saved from sin. To have 
confidence in self is not wrong, and yet it may be veiled 
weakness. The youth who thinks that he intends no harm, 
and who, believing God’s angels will help him through, 
appropriates money committed to his trust, will at last find 
that presumption is not piety. Should he in the same 
spirit venture where others have been destroyed — among 
drunkards, gamblers, and profligates — he will find no angels 
there to keep him from dashing his foot against a stone. 
K, in the course of duty, he is exposed to evil influences, 
he may pursue his way undismayed, for he has God’s 
promise to fall back on; but if he courts ruin he has 
neither friend nor refuge. Shakespeare well says: 

“Lie in the lap of sin, and not mean harm! 

It is hypocrisy against the devil ; 

They that mean virtuously, and yet do so. 

The devil their virtue tempts, and they tempt heaven.” 

Schiller’s Diver, who rescues the king’s golden cup 
from the “howling Charybdis,” in the spirit of self-confi- 
dence attempts the feat a second time, but “no wave ever 


CHKISTLESS EMPIRES. 


87 


brings the lost youth to the shore.” And thus thousands 
go down into the night of sin and shame, because they 
over-estimate their strength. Having through God’s 
mercy once escaped the maelstrom, they dare it the second 
time, and then, abandoned to their own presumptuous folly, 
they sink to rise no more: 

“ They hear the loud surges sweep back in their swell, 

Their coming the thunder-sound heralds along! 

Fond eyes yet are tracking the spot where he fell : 

They come, the wild waters, in tumult and throng. 

Roaring up to the cliff — roaring back, as before. 

But no wave ever brings the lost youth to the shore.” 

Self-aggrandizement, within proper limits, is legitimate. 
It is laudable to crave success. Jesus must have desired 
the establishment of His kingdom, and the recognition of 
His authority; and to this innocent longing Satan appealed 
when, having shown the empires of earth, he said: “These 
things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship 
me.” A bold proposal, even though by the term “wor- 
ship” he may only have meant the recognition of his 
sovereignty. That is, if Jesus would accept them as 
Satan’s and leave the Satan in them undisturbed. He 
might have them. But such a bargain, if concluded, 
would have left the world as corrupt and miserable as ever. 
Christ desired real success, not a sham. He sought to re- 
new the nations in righteousness, thus converting them to 
His empire, not to sway a nominal scepter over them. 
We are not always as discriminating. We yearn for honor, 
power, wealth; like the Lord, we are anxious for a king- 
dom, but we are not always concerned about its character. 
Hence, fortunes are amassed at the cost of integrity, 
political triumphs are achieved by the sacrifice of personal 
dignity, positions of honor are won through deceit, and 
cherished plans are accomplished by trickery. But, after 
all, what has been gained ? Manhood has been subverted. 


88 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


and the interests of community seriously imperiled, to 
gratify a senseless lust for power. The tortuous policy 
has resulted in loss — loss to the individual and to society 
at large. Here is our peril. The natural and legitimate 
desire for self-advancement may blind us to the law of 
right, and trampling on its sanctions may leave us the 
shadow in place of the substance. The kingdom we may 
win, but whether it be an empire of affluence, of fame, or 
of social influence, if it be Christless, it is not w^orth the 
having. Ah! better choose with the Holy One of Israel 
to possess a humbler domain, and have it the seat of 
righteousness and peace. 

Thus the spirit of evil takes things that are right in 
themselves and perverts them to our undoing. Our hope 
of safety lies in decision and in reliance on “every word 
that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” “Get thee 
behind me, Satan,” was the prompt reply of Christ to His 
enemy. A similar rebuke will often dissolve the en- 
chanter’s spell. To parley with temptation, to tolerate its 
presence, to look half wistfully upon its face, is finally to 
yield. When the fox in the fable was invited to the den 
of the lion, he politely but firmly declined. He did so, 
because he noticed many footprints going toward the den, 
but none returning from it. Wise fox ! He saw no neces- 
sity for debate; for, as the feet-impressions were all in one 
direction, it was morally certain that whoever entered 
“left hope behind.” So every youth knows that the house 
of sin has gates that open only one way, and whoever 
passes them will find them closed to his return. Why 
should he halt irresolute ? If he knows not how to acquire 
decision in resisting, if he is ignorant how best to meet 
the solicitations of evil, let him lay to heart the teachings 
of revelation, and, like Jesus, he will find them sufficient 
for his guidance and protection. “It is written,” enough 
for counsel, enough for courage, enough for reason, is 


THE VICTORY. 


89 


“written” in this precious volume; and he who transcribes 
its sacred words on his soul, and transmutes them into 
conduct, may journey in safety amid the flames of temp- 
tation and the threats of Satan’s brood. Achilles was invul- 
nerable at every point but one, and yet he never entered 
unarmed into battle. We are vulnerable at more points 
than one; then let none of us be so rash as to brave the 
strife of life unclothed with that panoply which is fur- 
nished in the armory of sacred truth. There is no river 
Styx that flows which can shield us from the sharp arrows 
of Paris, and no loving Thetis who can guard us from ap- 
proaching danger. We are interested in no siege of Troy, 
but in the war that is waged by the powers of darkness 
against the soul. If they are to be defeated we must 
stand true. Not with earthly, but with heavenly arms 
must we fight. “The sword of the Spirit, which is the 
word of God,” is our defense, and if we rely on that, and 
wield it manfully, “no weapon formed against us shall 
prosper,” and in every struggle “we shall be brought off 
conquerors and more than conquerors.” 


VII. 


THE MIEACLES OE JESUS. 


This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and 
manifested forth His glory. John ii, 11. 

E left Jesus in the wilderness, we find Him now at a 



VV wedding. How great the transition! He had passed 
from a fast to a feast, from a desert to a homestead, from 
loneliness to companionship, from melancholy to mirth, 
from frowning devils to smiling friends, and from the ter- 
rible ordeal of temptation to the gentle reposefulness of 
domestic joy. Only three days had elapsed since His 
struggle with Satan, and these days had been filled with 
momentous events. John had acknowledged Him as the 
“Lamb of God”; the other John, author of the Gospel 
that bears his name, with Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip, 
and Nathaniel, had confessed Him to be the Messiah, and 
with these five disciples He had journeyed from the fords 
of the Jordan to Galilee, that in the country of His youth 
He might begin His more public ministry. These signifi- 
cant occurrences were crowded together in the short term 
already indicated, and before its close He had entered the 
humble but cheerful circle at Cana. As we look upon 
Him there, we are reminded that human existence itself 
is, to a great extent, made up of just such extremes as 
those which our Lord experienced in less than half a week. 
Birth and death, marriages and funerals, prosperity and 
adversity, meetings and partings, happiness and misery, 
friendships and enmities, enter into life, compose its warp 
and woof, and frequently their diverse colors touch and 
cross each other within the measure of a single diurnal 


90 


A WEDDING SCENE. 


91 


movement of earth. Blest the man who, like Christ, is 
equally prepared for the evil and the good; and who, like 
Him, knows how to preserve his soul’s integrity in the 
presence of the one, and how to yield his soul to the genial 
influences of the other! 

Cana of Galilee was an inconsiderable village a few miles 
north of Nazareth, and the marriage which Jesus attended 
there must have been of humble character. The poverty 
of the people and the obscurity of the locality forbid the 
supposition that the contracting parties belonged to the 
higher classes, or that the festivities were such as affluence 
alone could furnish. If we picture to ourselves a modest 
cluster of houses advantageously situated on a hill, a com- 
pany of simple Jewish peasants, with here and there a 
more important personage from the adjacent cities of 
Sepphoris and Nazareth mingling with the throng as 
guests, the veiled bride and the flower-crowned bride- 
groom, the sweet-smelling garlands and the soft-sounding 
music, such as home gardens and native talent could sup- 
ply, and if we add to these features the harmless mirth 
and pleasant bustle of such occasions, we shall doubtless 
have before us a very correct idea of the scene. Such a 
spot, therefore, and the humble joys of such people would 
hardly have been mentioned by the historian but for an 
event in the life of our Lord which brought both into 
prominence. It was there and among these lowly villagers 
that Jesus, to save the host unmerited mortification and 
the guests unexpected disappointment, changed water 
into wine, and thus inaugurated the wonders which distin- 
guished His subsequent ministry, and which have led to 
manifold questionings and to manifold blessings as well. 

These wonders — not this one in particular, but all of 
them in general, and only this one as far as it may throw 
light on the rest — I desire in the present discourse to 
examine carefully and candidly. 


92 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


In ordinary conversation the word “miracle” is em- 
ployed to describe these acts, a word frequently met with 
in our version of the Scriptures, and which is supposed by 
many persons to give a clear and distinct idea of their 
nature. This, however, is a mistake. The term is from 
the Latin, and is synonymous with “wonder”; and the 
Greek words, of which it is claimed to be a translation, 
respectively signify “power” and “signs,” and are fre- 
quently applied to what is purely natural. Such being 
the case, taken by themselves they do not define the order 
of works to which they belong, and were never intended 
to do so. They merely denote them, and leave us to 
derive a complete conception of their essential character 
from the detailed accounts given of their performance. 
The Gospels, therefore, are not responsible for the various 
definitions of miracles which have obtained currency 
among men. They have never said that they are viola- 
tions of the laws which govern the universe, or deviations 
from such laws — though they may be either, or both, or 
neither — but have only taught that they are astonishing 
and expressive effects of which the Divine energy is the 
direct and all-sufficient cause. 

It is generally assumed by those who antagonize with 
Christianity that miracles are irreconcilable with the uni- 
formity of Nature’s operations, that the universe is gov- 
erned by law, that law reigns everywhere, that its course 
is never interrupted, and that it never could have been 
set aside. While in general terms this uniformity may be 
conceded without debate, yet it is questionable whether 
all that is said regarding its inviolability is susceptible 
of proof, or is even logically involved in the premise. 
To an atheist, who not only denies the existence of a 
personal God, but the freedom of man’s will, and who 
reduces the universe to the level of a dead machine, it 
is evident that what he calls law can never be set aside 


THE REIGH OF LAW. 


93 


or held in abeyance, for to him there is no being any- 
where to attempt such an undertaking. The atheistic 
conception of the universe necessarily excludes the pos- 
sibility of miracles, and it renders them superfluous. 
But where this conception is rejected, and its opposite 
is firmly held, it cannot be shown that occasional devia- 
tions from the ordinary action of law are prejudicial or 
derogatory to its permanence. If there is a God, He must 
be above the law that He administers, and He would 
cease to be God were He so bound by it that under no 
circumstances He could subordinate it to His infinite will. 
On this point the Duke of Argyle has well written: “To 
believe in the existence of miracles, we must believe in 
the superhuman and in the supernatural. But both these 
are familiar facts in Nature. We must believe, also, in a 
supreme will and a supreme intelligence; but this, our 
own wills and our own intelligence, not only enable us to 
conceive of, but compel us to recognize, in the whole laws 
and economy of Nature. Her whole aspect answers intel- 
ligently to our intelligence, — mind responding to mind as 
in a glass. Once admit that there is a Being who, — irre- 
spective of any theory as to the relation in which the laws 
of Nature stand to His will, — has at least an infinite 
knowledge of those laws, and an infinite power of putting 
them to use, then miracles lose every element of incon- 
ceivability. In respect to the greatest and highest of all, — 
that restoration of the breath of life, which is not more 
mysterious than its original gift, — there is no answer to 
the question which Paul asks, ‘ Why should it be thought 
a thing incredible by you that God should raise the 
dead ? ’ ” As Schlegel has said, it must be “ in the Divine 
power to suspend the laws of nature, to interfere directly 
with them, and, as it were, to intercalate among them 
some higher and immediate operation of His power, as an 
exception to their uniform development. For as in the 


94 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


social frame of civil life, the author and giver of the laws 
may occasionally set them aside, or, in their administra- 
tion, allow certain special cases of exception, even so it is 
with Nature’s Lawgiver.” Following this illustration, is 
it not clear that as the exceptions alluded to in civil gov- 
ernment do not in reality derange its order or unsettle its 
course, so those which occur in a wider plane and under 
the Divine administration cannot fairly be charged with 
any such evil consequences? It may, likewise, be said to 
those who would make the Almighty a slave to His own 
enactments that as there are laws, such as those of elec- 
tricity, which could not be discovered or brought into 
play by man until he had attained his present degree of 
enlightenment, so there may be laws which regulate the 
events called “miracles,” which cannot be known or 
brought into requisition by any being whose intelligence 
and power are short of Divine, If this is admissible, then 
it follows that miracles are not even a deviation from the 
laws of nature, but only an application of laws which lie 
exclusively within the scope of the Almighty, and that 
their operation no more disturbs the harmony of the uni- 
verse than the electric light is likely to derange the solar 
system. An English writer finds a crude exemplification 
of this thought in the famous Strasburg clock. He stood 
one day and “watched it steadily marking the seconds, 
minutes, hours, days of the week, and phases of the moon, 
when suddenly the figure of an angel turned up his hour- 
glass, another struck four times, and Death struck twelve 
times with metal marrow-bones to indicate noon; various 
figures passed in and out of doorways, the twelve Apostles 
marched one by one before the figure of their Master, and 
a brass cock three times flapped its wings, threw back its 
head and crowed. All this,” says the scientist, “was as 
much a part of the designer’s plan as the ordinary mark- 
ing of time,” and he had provided for it in advance, and 


HUME AMD MILL. 


95 


the machinery for its execution was so arranged as to 
come into play at the preordained and definite moment. 
So God may have prepared the universe from the begin- 
ning with a view to miracles, may have ordered its laws 
in such a manner that at the predetermined hour in His 
providence these wonderful phenomena should appear, 
and bear convincing testimony to the Messiahship of 
Jesus. 

Before we trace the bearing of these reflections, there 
is another objection, different in character from the one I 
have considered, that deserves at least passing notice. I 
refer to the celebrated argument of Hume which under- 
takes to prove that it is impossible to believe in miracles 
at all. That he has failed in his endeavor is shown by no 
less a thinker than John Stuart Mill [System of Logic, 
Book III, Ch. who, after a thorough investigation 

of Hume’s position, remarks that he has only made out that 
‘‘ no evidence can prove a miracle to any one who did not 
previously believe in the existence of a being or beings 
with supernatural power, or who believes himself to have 
full proof that the character of the being whom he recog- 
nizes is inconsistent with his having seen fit to interfere 
on the occasion in question.” And various writers have 
elaborately shown that when Hume says that miracles 
cannot be credited because they are contrary to experience, 
he is taking for granted the very question in debate — 
namely: whether they are contrary to experience. They 
doubtless are contrary to your experience and mine, just 
as a frozen lake would be to an African Prince of the 
equator; but that does not prove that they were contrary 
to the experience of the ancients any more than the lim- 
ited observation of the African proves that neither we nor 
our fathers have ever seen with our eyes or touched with 
our hands the realities of a polar winter. But by those 
who sympathize with Hume it is asked; Why do not 


96 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


these wonderful works occur to-day? Lavatar answered 
that they do, and other writers agree with him, though I 
am persuaded that they are thinking of the supernatural 
more than of the specific phenomena to which the name 
of “miracles” is applied. So far as they are identical 
with the supernatural they never cease, but so far as 
they are a particular form of the supernatural they were 
transitory, and have passed away. Why? Leibnitz has 
given the reason substantially when he insists that they 
were wrought to supply the needs of grace. That is, 
in the development of God’s gracious purposes periods 
arrived when they were necessary to enforce the word 
of His messengers, and to impart Divine authority to 
their mission. Hence we find them prevailing at three 
distinct epochs — during the deliverance of Israel from 
Egypt and its establishment in Palestine, during its 
reformation under the ministry of Elijah, and during the 
time of Christ and His Apostles, when Christianity was 
founded and disseminated. They are grouped around 
these momentous movements, these pivotal points in 
sacred history, because they were required to confirm and 
ratify, to reveal and convince. For them to be perpetu- 
ated indefinitely, to be distributed indiscriminately, and to 
be possible at all times, would destroy their specific value 
as credentials, and would seriously impede the progress of 
the race in knowledge and industry, as affording facilities 
for all human necessities, which in the nature of things 
would render superfluous both investigation and labor. 
Here, then, we have the reason why they are not in accord 
with ordinary experience; and, in view of the worthless- 
ness of these several objections, we may conclude that the 
foundations on which their credibility rests have not been 
removed, nor even seriously shaken by the critics. 

Miracles are direct acts of Divine power, brought about 
in harmony with the supremacy of law, and for the accom- 


CESSATION OF MIRACLES. 


97 


plishment of a special and religious end. But it will be 
answered that all such definitions plainly assume the reality 
of the supernatural, and that this is opposed by science, 
and therefore, can no longer be believed. I am aware of this 
impression, and know its vital connection with the subject 
we are considering, and consequently I may be permitted 
a few words in defense of what so many affect to scorn. 
Professor Ernest Naville, in the conference held at 
Geneva, 1861, said, referring to the prophecies of Bacon 
concerning the study of nature: “There is a very general 
disposition to consider physical and mathematical truths 
as the only truths which are solid and well proved, and to 
banish the wants of the heart and of the conscience, and 
the more elevated requirements of reason to the land of 
chimeras and vain imaginations. The progress of science 
— a legitimate subject of pride in our time — conceals, 
therefore, a dangerous rock. Minds fixed upon natural 
facts, as well as those shallow minds from whom the 
changeable surface of history hides its solid foundations, 
both arrive at one common result. The phenomena of 
time hide from them eternity. The two greatest edifices 
erected by modern genius (science and industry) project 
the shadow of doubt over our generation. It seems as if 
every stone added to the building veiled from us a new 
portion of the eternal azure.” Hence it is that Strauss, 
Baur and Francis Newman contend that there is no such 
thing as the supernatural, that nature is immutable, and 
that interferences with, or departures from its settled 
order, are absolutely impossible. These conclusions are 
urged in the name of Bacon, or at least in the name of his 
philosophy, and many there are who think that he is re- 
sponsible for them. This, however, is an error. Lord 
Bacon recognizes no incompatibility between his scientific 
principles and the essential doctrines of Christianity. In 
proof of this, refer to his Valerius Terminus and his In- 
7 


98 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


stauratio Magna; in the former of which he pleads for 
the authority of Scripture, which assuredly affirms the 
“supernatural,” and gives utterance to the immortal say- 
ing, “a little natural philosophy inclineth the mind to 
atheism, but a further proceeding bringeth the mind back 
to religion;” and in the latter he prays — an act which in 
itself displays his belief in the supernatural — “that human 
philosophy may be no hurt to Divine truth, and that the 
opening of the paths of sense, and the brighter kindling 
of natural light, may never be the cause of aught of un- 
belief and darkness in regard to the Divine mysteries.” 
Whoever then may be blind to the supernatural. Bacon 
was not, and Positivism and Agnosticism have no right 
even to insinuate anything to the contrary. And deep 
down in the human soul there is an ineradicable belief in 
its reality. No theorizing, no array of names, and no 
amount of ridicule have been able to efface the conviction 
that there is something more in this universe than matter 
and machinery. “True,” writes Guizot to certain skeptics, 
“there are, in our days, among the people, many fathers, 
mothers, children, who believe themselves incredulous, and 
mock scornfully at miracles ; but follow them in the 
intimacy of their homes, among the trials of their lives; 
how do these parents act when their child is ill, those far- 
mers when their crops are threatened, those sailors when 
they float upon the waters a prey to the tempest ? They 
elevate their eyes to heaven, they burst forth in prayer, 
they invoke that supernatural power said by you to be 
abolished in their very thought. By their spontaneous 
and irresistible acts they give to your words and to their 
own a striking disavowal.” 

It has been so, if we may believe Herbert Spencer, 
from the beginning of human thought, and doubtless it 
will be so to the end. Instructive would it be, had we 
time to pursue the subject deliberately, to trace the vari- 


A WORLD-WIDE BELIEF. 


99 


ous expressions of this faith among different nations, and 
during the course of all the centuries. So vast a task I 
cannot now undertake to perform, and yet it is important 
that it should not be entirely neglected. A few words, 
therefore, in this direction can not come amiss. We should 
remember that there is no historic religion in the world 
that does not acknowledge the supernatural. The Mosaic 
economy from first to last is permeated by it, and it hardly 
needs to be said that the New Testament constantly in- 
troduces it. The same is reported true of Islaniism, of 
Buddhism, and of every other creed. In our day Protest- 
antism subscribes to doctrines which plainly involve it, 
such as the Incarnation; and Romanism asserts its 
reality and its workings, uncompromisingly and dog- 
matically. But outside of religious systems there are 
evidences that it is cherished, and that it is as influential 
as ever. Even what may be a palpable superstition proves 
this. I express here no opinion as to the merits of Spirit- 
ualism, but its prevalence, and its hold on the public mind 
show conclusively that men are unprepared to admit 
that the earth is inaccessible to influences from other 
realms. It should also be remembered that where grave 
calamities have occurred, or where crimes have been com- 
mitted, marvelous sights and sounds have been seen and 
heard, or the excited imagination has fancied that they 
have been seen and heard. Thus we are told that when 
Pompeii was about to be destroyed, strange forms were 
seen on Mount Vesuvius; and when Jerusalem was to be 
overthrown, mysterious omens heralded the event. It is 
recorded that terrifying signs followed the massacre of 
the Huguenots on St. Bartholomew’s day. ‘‘About a 
week after the massacre,” says a contemporary, “ Charles 
had not been in bed two hours when he jumped up and 
called for the King of Navarre, to listen to a horrible 
tumult in the air; shrieks, groans, yells, mingled with bias- 


100 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


phemous oaths and threats, just as they were heard on the 
night of the massacre. For seven nights at the same hour 
the sound returned” {See Whitens Bartholomew). It is 
not denied that all these appearances and noises may 
have been imaginary, but even on this supposition it is 
clear that humanity instinctively believes in the possibility 
of supernatural manifestations, especially on occasions of 
peculiar solemnity. Murderers cannot but feel that the 
ghosts of their victims can and ought to haunt them; 
wicked men entertain a dread of agencies which are not 
of earth, and in their moments of extremity godly persons 
look for help from sources that are beyond the domain of 
natural law. Thus extensive is the conviction that the 
unseen projects itself into the seen, and makes itself felt 
in human affairs; and to me it is incredible that it should 
be so wide-spread, persistent and tenacious were there no 
basis for it in fact. There must be some corresponding 
reality underlying these beliefs. It is inconceivable that 
they are foundationless, and yet so many people of every 
grade of intelligence hold to them thus earnestly. 

But in addition to this, the supernatural is being con- 
stantly revealed before our eyes. Nature displays it. 
Not an object is there in all this complicated universe that 
fails to disclose the presence and action of Infinite intelli- 
gence. Science confesses its inability to cope with causes, 
and is forced to confine its inquiries to phenomena. And 
if we will only take pains to think, we cannot be blind to 
the evidences of design which point to a great Designer. 
The idea which some men venture to suggest that all things 
are self-begotten and self-ordered, is not only contrary to 
experience, but is contrary to philosophy as well. The 
harmonies, the adjustments, the adaptations proclaim a 
God, and a God not afar off ; and if He is, and if He ex- 
ercises perpetual control, then the supernatural is a per- 
manent and undeniable fact. Can you believe that the 


THE TRUE SOLUTION. 


101 


flowers shaped themselves, that they created their own 
perfume, and ordered their own times on the earth; can 
you believe that the bird fashioned its own wing and de- 
termined its own flight; or can you believe that man is the 
author of his own mind and varied powers ? If you can, 
your imagination is stupendous, and you yourself are a 
living proof of the supernatural; for your credulity is 
more than human. But if you cannot, then you are con- 
fronted by the only adequate solution — God — a solution 
that carries with it all that I contend for to*day. Only 
open your eyes to the wonders and mysteries there are 
in a solitary star, or in the humblest grass-blade which you 
trample beneath your feet; gaze at the one, pluck and 
scrutinize the other, and though an infinitude may separate 
them, you will rise from your study deeply impressed with 
the truth, that, like the drifted branches seen by Columbus 
on the ocean, they are evidences of another world, and of 
a Being whose grandeur finds no parallel among the crea- 
tures of earth. But if you are not convinced, turn to the 
affairs of men, and you will hardly fail to observe inter- 
positions and movements which justify belief in Provi- 
dence. Providence and the supernatural are interchange- 
able terms. The one includes, yea ^s, the other. They 
are only different names for the same thing. Is there a 
life here which in its serious moods is not constrained to 
acknowledge that some deliverance or guidance or benefit 
it has received is directly traceable to Divine intervention ? 
If there is, then is it very poor and destitute indeed; but 
most likely there is not. Perhaps there is not one of us 
who has not at some time enjoyed such an experience, and 
perhaps not one who fails occasionally to relate it for the 
encouragement of others. On a wider stage — that of his- 
tory — we have repeated instances of Divine oversight and 
overruling. There is likewise in history a consistency and 
order, a development, as of a marvelous story, which calls 


102 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


for a presiding mind to explain. Viewed in its light we are 
frequently very much like Sennacherib, meaning one thing 
in our heart, and yet used by the Almighty to further His 
own designs. We are hurrying to and fro, busy with our 
personal affairs, our petty schemes and pleasures, and 
unconsciously are being made to serve His higher and more 
comprehensive purposes. This must appear clear to all 
who will look backward, and will strengthen the convic- 
tion that God reigns. 

While the credibility of the wonders which attended 
the ministry of Jesus may thus be defended, it is import- 
ant that we consider more particularly their precise rela- 
tion to His claims and works. John in the text says that 
they “manifested forth His glory.” They are evidently 
here thought of as serving a purpose, supplementary to 
that which ordinarily they promote. They manifest, that 
is, show forth; they not only bear witness to our Lord’s 
Messiahship; but, in addition, contribute to a better and 
clearer understanding of what He is and what He does. 
In my opinion. His miracles, while certifying, as in the 
case of Moses and Elijah, to His divine vocation, likewise 
reveal the grandeur of His person, and the graciousness of 
His ministry. Let us see how they fulfill these important 
offices. 

His grandeur they display by bringing into relief, first. 
His self-forgetfulness, and, secondly. His self-sufficiency. 
Do you recall that passage in the last days of Jesus on 
earth, when, rebuking the foolish violence of Peter, He 
said: “ Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, 
and He shall presently give me more than twelve legions 
of angels,” and have you never asked yourself why He did 
not invoke this Heavenly succor? The answer is found in 
His self-abnegation. I said in my last discourse that 
Jesus never used His miraculous powers on His own behalf. 
He gladly multiplied the bread to feed the famishing 


MORAL GREATNESS. 


103 


thousands, but never one poor stone would He change into 
a loaf to sustain His own exhausted body. He joyfully 
released the captive from the clutch of cruel disease, an 
enemy, mark you, stronger than any that rose in human 
form against Himself, and yet He disdained to rend the 
bonds that bound Him, though to His resistless might they 
were frailer than the green withes which Samson’s strength 
defied. To heal the sorrow of a widow’s soul He snatched 
her only son from the grave; but to assuage His own, He 
would not so much as bend the little finger of His omnipo- 
tence. To restore happiness to the humble home at 
Bethany He rebuked death, and yet quietly Himself went 
as a sheep to the slaughter; and though the awful power 
of the Infinite was in Him, as a sheep before its shearers is 
dumb. He opened not His mouth. Here is sublime self- 
abnegation, which even fable has not dared to match. 
It stands alone in the annals of heroes and gods, and is 
explained by the fact that Jesus gave Himself for others, 
and gave Himself so absolutely, and would have the world 
so realize the completeness of the gift, that He reserved 
nothing of all His vast resources to lighten His own burdens 
or lessen His anguish. And perhaps this wonderful self- 
surrender, which appears to have been optional with Him, 
added to the merit of His saving work, as it shows that 
He submitted to what He could have resisted, and accepted 
the suffering which He could have escaped, and willingly 
entered into man’s condition of ill, from which, by a word. 
He could forever have freed Himself. But it displays 
something more than this. It brings out the grandeur 
of His lowliness. When I behold this Being, before 
whom devils trembled with fear, and from whose presence 
death fled in dismay, condescending to be thrust out of 
life amid the insulting words, ‘‘He saved others. Himself 
He cannot save,” without giving a sign of that marvelous 
might which in a moment could have crushed His puny 


104 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


adversaries, I am amazed, and feel that I see One who is 
too strong to be swerved from His purpose, too great to 
be swayed from His composure by taunts, and too good to 
be roused to hasty retaliation by the cruelty of the inso- 
lent and ignorant. 

The miracles of Jesus, while they thus distinctly display 
His self-forgetfulness, likewise bring out sharply His self- 
sufficiency. When about to separate from His disciples, 
in reply to the perplexed demand of Philip, ‘^Show us the 
Father and it sufficeth us,” He impressively said: “He 
that hath seen me hath seen the Father. Believe me that 
I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe 
me for the very works’ sake.” In the following chapter 
He gives utterance to the terribly significant language, 
*‘If I had not done among them the works which none 
other man did, they had not had sin; but now have they 
both seen and hated both me and my Father.” Seen — but 
how? By His works. His marvelous works. Such is His 
own testimony. As the authors of great deeds are them- 
selves revealed in their achievements, and as we get 
glimpses of what men are only through their performances, 
so we obtain an insight into the mysterious nature of 
Christ through His miracles. When He converts the sea 
into a highway for His feet, and walks on its yielding 
floods as though they were adamantine rocks; when He 
subdues the strength of the tempest, and creates a calm 
through His mighty word — “Peace be still” — as at the 
beginning the storm of chaos retreated before the sublime 
command, “Let there be light;” when He veils Himself in 
the invisible as hostile hands are raised against Him, and 
makes for Himself a refuge in the unseen as enemies assail 
His life — a refuge which He sought not when the hour of 
His great sacrifice had arrived, and which He momentarily 
chose only to prevent the miscarriage of the Father’s pur- 
pose in redemption; when He provides the vintage without 


MERCY IN MIRACLES. 


105 


a vineyard, and abundant bread without seed-sowing and 
harvest; and when He strikes terror to the heart of death, 
reverses its stern decrees, and with a smile of immortality 
thaws the rigid gates of its icy kingdom, we discern in Him 
a sufficiency which can only be likened to that which at the 
first called all things into being, and which maintains by 
the word of its power all things in the heavens above and 
in the earth beneath. Christ’s miracles are microcosmic ex- 
pressions of the inscrutable energy that made and sustains 
the world; they are samples of the measureless might that 
is back of the endless and varied phenomena of the uni- 
verse, and they are, therefore, unanswerable witnesses to a 
personal grandeur which no other name than that of God 
can compass or define. 

I have also said that they are related to His ministry — 
that they proclaim its graciousness. This wall be manifest 
if we will but regard them as philanthropies and as para- 
bles. The miracles of Jesus are full of human sympathy 
and tenderness. They add beauty to the bridal robe at 
Cana, and glory to the burial shroud at Nain. They pour 
light into the blind eyes of mendicants, health into the 
poisoned blood of lepers, and strength into the withered 
bodies of helpless paralytics. Never once were they per- 
formed ostentatiously. Had they been wrought to amaze, 
startle, or astound, one might well have suspected Him of 
vanity. They were accomplished so lovingly, and withal 
so unobtrusively, that we are compelled to read in them a 
desire for the well-being of others and not for His 
own renown. This was the soul of His earthly ministry; 
this is its soul now that He fulfills it from the heavenly 
throne. We are to learn from it His undying interest in 
mankind, an interest that still asserts itself in providential 
deliverances and interpositions. Though He no longer per- 
forms miracles on behalf of man. He yet continues the ex- 
ercise of that gracious power of which they were the pat- 


106 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


tern and the pledge. You have been tossed on the “ billow’s 
ridgy steep” of ocean’s fathomless abyss, and have heard 
the world of waters bellowing to the blast as it threatened 
entombment in its yawning floods, and yet your trembling 
bark outrode the storm; you have stood in the path of the 
descending avalanche as it came thundering and crashing 
in its might, and yet ere it could overwhelm you its course 
was stayed, its devastating mass divided, and you stood 
safe with the frozen billows of two snowy seas piled on 
either side; you have crouched before the unfettered wind, 
before whose Titanic force the trees of the forest bowed 
their stubborn heads, and the rocks fled precipitously from 
their base, w'hile Nature everywhere seemed smitten with 
cringing fear, and yet you lifted up your head secure 
amid wrecks and desolation; you have dreaded the awful 
plague whose blighting and destroying breath poisoned 
the life of thousands and converted the green earth into a 
foul charnel house, and yet you have survived where many 
perished, a living being in a world of death; yea, you have 
wandered in some subterranean mine of poverty and afflic- 
tion, groping in its labyrinthine chambers, hopeless, cheer- 
less, and when urged by despair to the very brink of ruin, 
some shaft of light has suddenly quivered in the darkness 
and kindled the way to liberty. How came you to escape 
these perils? Who succored you when other helpers 
failed? The miracles supply the answer. As they an- 
nounce the abiding interest of Jesus in the temporal well- 
being of God’s creatures, they teach us that these special 
providences are due to the same spirit; and as they were 
wrought sovereignly and in harmony with infinite wisdom, 
so these providences, while they reveal a heart of love that 
beats with sympathy for all, are determined by an unerr- 
ing counsel, and fall out in such a way as to save man 
from despair, and at the same time keep him from pre- 
sumption. 


ESSENTIAL CHARACTER OF RELIGION. 


107 


Finally, miracles are enacted parables of the mysteries 
of grace. They are the Gospel of salvation in deeds and 
symbols. Jesus came not merely to minister to temporal 
good, but to win the soul from deadly evil. He is 
Redeemer as well as Benefactor. He opens eyes that have 
been blinded by sin, unstops the ear that has been deaf- 
ened by iniquity, cleanses the heart that has been fouled 
by moral leprosy, quickens the conscience that has been 
stifled by wrong-doing, and casts devils out which too long 
have warmed themselves in the inner sanctities of man’s 
nature. He changes the water of sorrow into the wine of 
joy; He converts the coarse loaf offered by the pulpit 
into the veritable bread of life, and multiplies it to meet 
the spiritual need of thousands; and to the disciples who 
cast their net according to His word He gives unnumbered 
converts in return for faith and toil. The miracles frater- 
nize with these spiritual truths; they present them to the 
eye, and in the world of sense proclaim what only the 
penitent soul can find out to perfection. Said I not right, 
then, that they display the graciousness of our Savior’s 
ministry? Surely, however viewed, they bring to light 
His matchless tenderness. His abundant love, and His 
holy purpose born of both to help and save mankind; and 
if they do this, then beyond question all that I have 
claimed is more than verified. 

Permit me to add in closing that it seems legitimate to 
infer from the relation which these marvels bear to Jesus 
and His work that the religion which He founded must be 
essentially supernatural. It is not likely that He would 
have been surrounded by these wonders had He not de- 
signed to leave the impression that while they would cease 
Christianity would derive its life from unseen sources, and 
accomplish its work through that very omnipotence which 
eighteen centuries ago raised the dead and governed 
stormful nature with a word. Let us accept the inference. 


108 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


Only the supernatural can explain the preservation of 
Christianity from its early foes; only this can account for 
its progress amid the fermenting rationalism and deadly 
antagonism of such a world as this; and only the inter- 
position of Almightiness can unravel the mystery of its 
power to save the sin-hardened and the sin-debased. 
Think but for a moment on the significance of such deliv- 
erances from iniquity. It is accepted as an axiom that sin 
propagates itself, and that it tends to enslave conscience 
and will, so that escape from its power is, humanly speak- 
ing, impossible. We cannot add one cubit to our stature, 
neither can we reverse the laws of growth and restore 
youth to the body. As Nicodemus said to Jesus, “ Can a 
man enter his mother’s womb a second time, and be 
born?” And this spiritual birth is just as surprising and 
marvelous. The laws governing the soul are reversed, and 
that which was dead is made alive. An incident is 
recorded in an English journal, and copied in the Baptist 
Weehly, of a murderer’s conversion, which illustrates how 
wonderful is this experience. He was waiting execution, 
and in his cell he was heard repeating the words, “Hanged 
by the neck, and God have mercy on your soul.” But he 
was unwilling to talk with any one on the subject of reli- 
gion. A conversation with him was reported in a daily 
paper, and coming under the eye of a pious woman, she 
was impelled to visit him in prison. Her heart almost 
failed her. But taking a bunch of flowers she went. 
Admitted to his cell she could not speak, and all she could 
do was to hand him the flowers and weep. In a moment 
the man was changed. What he saw recalled home, 
mother and early years, and he realized his condition and 
prayed, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” So wonderful 
a transformation can hardly be ascribed to means so slight 
and inadequate. No; what we behold is, as is generally the 
ijase with the supernatural, the Divine Being interposing 


TRIUMPHS OF THE SUPERNATURAL. 


109 


along the lines of the natural to effect a change as great 
as it was needful. Such instances are occurring daily, 
and in this congregation there are those who have been 
saved as marvelously. Drunkards, pugilists, harlots have 
been redeemed, and in almost every Christian assembly 
they may be found, clothed in their right mind and 
praising God. But in addition, we have the supernatural 
in prayer. That it is answered we have no doubt; not 
always, for then it would come to be classed with the 
natural, but with sufficient frequency to encourage, what 
is more important than the answer, constant soul-com- 
munion with the Almighty. But how are our petitions 
honored? Through the ministrations of angels? through 
impressions on the mind of the petitioner, so that by his 
own endeavors he obtains his desire? through influences 
brought to bear on others ? or through some modification 
of the action of nature ? Each of these explanations has 
been given, and by one or all of these means the result 
may be brought about; but on any of these suppositions 
the Creator comes near to the creature, and brings to pass 
ends which would otherwise be unaccomplished. Thus, 
then, every time we kneel, every time we breathe our 
supplications, we are on the border-land of the super- 
natural, and acknowledge its certitude and availableness. 
Oh! believe me, then, our religion is not a mere earth-born 
and earth-bound system. Every time you look imploringly 
toward the Invisible, every time you expect the conver- 
sion of a soul, you impliedly subscribe to this great truth; 
and, therefore, gladly assert it openly that none may be 
misled, but that all may be guided to the Supernatural for 
that present help which the Supernatural alone can give. 


VIII. 

THE POVEETT OF JESUS. 


Jesus saith unto him. The foxes have holes, and the birds of the 
air have nests ; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head. 
Matthew mil, 20. 

I T is difficult to realize that to-day’s great Christian 
festival — Easter Sunday — is commemorative of Him 
whose lips murmured these plaintive words. An effort of 
the imagination is needed to identify the Christ before 
whom the conscience, the affections, the intellect, and the 
genius of the most enlightened portion of the human 
family now lie prostrate in adoring homage, and to whom 
Nature brings her sweetest and loveliest floral offerings, 
and music the tribute of its sublimest and divinest har- 
monies, with the lowly Being who on the shores of Galilee 
eighteen centuries ago confessed Himself both homeless 
and shelterless. The contrast is nothing short of marvel- 
ous. Then He owned not the humblest roof in Palestine, 
and was poorer in earthly possessions than beast or bird; 
but now the stateliest cathedrals, the noblest basilicas, 
and the countless host of sacred buildings which grace 
and beautify so many favored lands are reverently recog- 
nized as His, and are freely consecrated to His service. 
And, stranger still, if His promise may be credited, 
‘‘where two or three are met together in my name there 
am I in their midst,” He is present in, and occupies them 
all. He who had no refuge, and whose “ head was filled 
with dew, and His locks with the drops of the night,” is 
now more splendidly housed than princes, and all that 
affection, affluence, and art can do to celebrate His praise 

110 


THE CARPENTER. 


Ill 


is gladly done. What a change ! And what if the mate- 
rial splendor of His worship be but a faint symbol of the 
place He occupies in the regenerated heart ? What if the 
flowers which breathe their life out on His altars be but 
fragrant signs of immortal souls, which joyfully exhale 
their strength in self-sacrificing devotion to His cause? 
What if the outburst of extolling song which fills the 
air with mystic sounds be but the accompaniment of an 
inner spiritual melody, which human voices can never sing, 
and man-made instruments can never play ? And what if 
all this external magnificence and this internal veneration 
be but indistinct intimations of His exalted position in 
the universe, of His measureless dignity, of the love He 
inspires throughout the hosts of Heaven, and of the hom- 
age whereby He is forever magnified? Aye, what? 

The poverty of Jesus was not of that abject and squalid 
type which all too frequently shocks our sensibilities and 
arouses our pity in modern times. He was by no means 
in so helpless and deplorable a plight as Lazarus, who 
begged an alms at the door of lordly Dives. We are not 
to think of Him as we do of our pauper classes, who are 
generally shiftless and spiritless. He was neither idle 
tramp nor shameless mendicant. Born in the ranks of the 
honest and industrious poor. He never knew ease or afflu- 
ence, and was dependent on His own toil for His support. 
His reputed father was a carpenter, and He Himself 
seems to have followed the same handicraft, and up to the 
beginning of His ministry to have earned His daily bread 
in the sweat of His brow. Our manly artisans, with their 
modest rooms and their precarious incomes, fighting the 
battle of life under many unfavorable circumstances, pre- 
sent the most faithful picture of our Lord’s social stand- 
ing. When He engaged in His Messianic mission the 
pittance derived from His mechanical skill had to be sacri- 
ficed, and He was literally without pecuniary resources. 


112 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


Friends and disciples were ready to minister to His neces- 
sities, but in worldly possessions the birds and the foxes 
were richer than He. What He said, therefore, to the 
ardent scribe who professed a willingness to follow Him, 
possibly with some expectation of personal advancement, 
was strictly true. He owned neither resting nor sleeping 
place. Although His situation was never as hopelessly 
wretched as that of some destitute persons in our cities, 
it was nevertheless sufficiently forlorn to embarrass Him, 
and to render His success problematical. But that He 
overcame all these difficulties is evident. We have full 
proof of it in the marvelous influence He has acquired 
over humanity, and in the commanding position His king- 
dom has attained on the earth. Now that one so humble 
should have risen so high, should have achieved so much 
in a domain as sacred as religion, and should have won a 
name which is indeed above every other name, is one of 
those wonderful and fruitful facts whose practical value is 
only equaled by its doctrinal significance. And it seems 
to me eminently wise to give it a place in our thoughts 
this evening, to explore it as a precious mine, that we may 
therefrom grow richer in our knowledge of Christ, and 
more abundant in our ability to overcome the adverse cir- 
cumstances of life. 

First, the poverty of Jesus, viewed in connection with 
His extraordinary exaltation, to my mind points to a 
nature superior to man’s. I am aware that many men 
have risen, in spite of their surroundings, to enviable sta- 
tions and influence. The cattle-tending of Keppler did 
not prevent him from becoming a great astronomer; the 
obscure origin and the early indigence of Beethoven did 
not hinder him from making himself one of the sublimest 
masters of harmony; the humble rank and manifold pri- 
vations of Bernard Palissy did not keep him from success 
in his chosen department of work; the sheepfold and 


TRIUMPHS OF POVERTY. 


113 


scantiness of food and clothing did not stay the career of 
Giotto, the painter; the bird-calling and swine-herding of 
Felix Peretti did not prevent him ascending the chair of 
St. Peter as Pope Sixtus V ; and all the diversified evils of 
the peasant’s hard and unpromising lot could not stifle the 
genius of Burns. They rose to eminence in their various 
vocations in the face of fortune’s frowns, and conquered 
the enemies which lay in their path. Their romantic and 
inspiring histories could be easily matched by thousands 
of others; for I presume it is not too much to say that a 
larger number of men have risen to greatness from the 
straw of the hovel than from the down of the palace. 
Our Homers, our Shakspeares, our Diirers, our Bunyans, 
our Bloomfields, our Clays, our Lincolns, our Garfields, 
and with them hosts of others whom we have not even 
time to name, were children of the poor, and struggled 
with the bitter evils of the poor man’s station. Indeed, 
so vast has been the army of glorious workers who have 
emerged from the shadows of penury that Hans Holbein 
in his famous picture depicting the Triumph of Poverty, 
has hardly overpainted his theme when he represents this 
dreaded condition as a beautiful woman, who develops the 
latent energies of mind and leads the race onward toward 
civilization. 

The fact, therefore, that Jesus has made Himself felt 
and has achieved abiding renown, though the circum- 
stances of birth and social position were against Him, 
taken by itself proves nothing, or at most only proves that 
He is entitled to stand side by side with the poets and 
painters, the philosophers and statesmen, whose full heads 
were not to be shamed by the emptiness of their purses. 
If His success was exactly the same as theirs, then of course 
it does not indicate that His nature is in any essential 
respect different from theirs. In degree it may be higher; 
but in kind, if nothing more is to be said on the subject, 
8 


114 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


it cannot be looked on as other than identical. But there 
is something more to be added, and something that is dif- 
ficult, if not impossible, to reconcile with the theory that 
He was man, and only man. 

Remember the throne which our Savior has conquered. 
I allude not to that which sacred writers declare He fills 
in the heavens, but to that which He fills on the earth. 
What He is in the realms of the blest we can only infer 
from what He is in this sorrowful world. His exaltation 
there we cannot now verify by sight, but His elevation 
here lies within the range of our senses. We see Him 
the center of adoring homage, we hear His praises sung 
by rejoicing millions, and we feel His influence in every 
department of thought and activity. He is enthroned 
among men, and in a domain where He reigns alone and 
supreme. That domain is the conscience and the reli- 
gious emotions, and there His scepter is without an equal. 
Your artists may give laws to the fancy, and your philos- 
ophers to the understanding; Christ alone gives laws to the 
heart. We know that poetry, that painting, that reason, 
that all which has been wrought in the name of beauty 
and of logic has ever failed to subdue the heart to right- 
eousness and peace. The heart hath reared obstacles 
which have impeded their progress, and which have per- 
verted their best endeavors to benefit it morally. But 
Jesus and His word have triumphed where every one else 
and everything else has been defeated. He alone over- 
comes natural antipathy to godliness, kindles the flame 
of devotion, and subdues the stubborn will to His service. 
His achievement, therefore, is without a parallel and with- 
out a rival, and, considered in the light of its exceptional 
and peculiar character, it implies a higher than human 
rank in the scale of being. This, it appears to me, 
would follow had His earthly condition been in every 
sense opulent; but being what it was, the inference seems 
irresistible. 


CHRIST AHD OTHER SAVIORS. 


115 


Difficult as it is for any mere earth-born creature to 
obtain religious control of his fellows, it is painfully 
increased and magnified by the misfortunes of poverty. 
Admitting that Buddha and Mahomet are instances of 
success in the spiritual realm, let it not be overlooked 
that in social distinction these reformers were far in 
advance of our Savior. The Hindu sage was the son of a 
king, and there was much that appealed to the popular 
thought and imagination in the self-mortifying career of 
one who was destined to sovereignty. He represented 
the authority of the throne in his person, and the people 
were doubtless influenced by the weight of that authority 
to give heed to his teachings. The Arabian prophet was 
descended from a distinguished ancestry, and though his 
parents were poor, they were honored and honorable. Ma- 
homet was not insensible to the disadvantages attending his 
impoverished condition, and sagaciously married Kadijah, 
a widow much older than himself, and whose affluence 
raised him far above want. Therefore could it be shown 
that these personages were the peers of our Lord in reli- 
gious achievements, it yet remains evident that their 
external circumstances were more favorable than His to 
success. Moreover, it should not be forgotten that the 
prophet relied on the sword, and that he and Siddartha 
skillfully allied the passions, the prejudices, the supersti- 
tions, and interests of the populace on their side. But so 
did not Christ. He neither had the means nor the dispo- 
sition to employ violence in behalf of His kingdom. The 
doctrines He proclaimed challenged antagonism, and His 
ministry was ominous of danger to his native land. In- 
deed, His entire movement was more deeply spiritual and 
more broadly human than either of those with which it 
has so frequently been compared, and in fundamental 
features it was essentially different. We therefore reit- 
erate the exceptional character of His work, and reaffirm 


116 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


the conviction that His poverty would have rendered it 
vain had He not been endowed with a nature immeasur- 
ably grander than man’s. 

Consider in support of this view that Jesus was un- 
aided by any of the helps, of which, in perhaps every other 
instance, poor men availed themselves in rising above 
their unpropitious condition. Many of them were assisted 
by the rich, who delighted to patronize undoubted genius; 
others were favored by the spirit of the times, as in the 
case of several of Napoleon’s generals, or by the advan- 
tages of free institutions, as in the case of various Amer- 
ican statesmen. We regret to add that quite a number 
were indebted for their elevation to their own talent for 
chicanery and duplicity, as in the case of Sixtus V, to 
whom already reference has been made, who, to secure 
the votes of the Conclave, simulated manifold infirmities, 
and who, when the Popedom was secured, threw away his 
crutches and derisively said, “ When seeking for the keys 
of Paradise I was obliged to stoop a little, but now I have 
found them it becomes me to look up.” It is surely un- 
necessary to say that Jesus never condescended to employ 
such trickery, and that He was practically without encour- 
agement from the affluent and noble. No king was 
found to smile upon Him; no generous philanthropist 
contributed to His enterprise; and no happy turn of pub- 
lic affairs served to bring Him from undeserved obscurity. 
Nay, rather. His mean social standing tended to intensify 
the opposition of community toward Him as a religious 
teacher. The rulers of the nation had more than once 
been compromised by indigent fanatics, who, having noth- 
ing to lose themselves, were indifferent to the ruin their 
excesses brought on others. Their conservatism and 
prudence naturally led them to reject these self-styled 
prophets who were destitute of lands and houses. They 
reasoned that such teachers are generally extremists, the 


FANATICISM AND CONSERVATISM. 117 

enemies of law and order, who in their blind zeal inaugu- 
rate revolutions impossible to control. Thus we ourselves 
argue, and unfortunately with only too valid grounds. 
Has it not been a perpetual injury to the cause of the 
poor, even in temporalities, that in seeking redress from 
wrongs they become altogether too fierce and denuncia- 
tory, and too. radical in their measures of reform? Un- 
taught in the science of government, and taking only a 
superficial view of society, they propose remedies so fear- 
fully heroic that they really kill the patient whom they 
desire to cure. The disjointed talk, the vain boasting and 
silly braggadocio, the wild and inexecutable programmes 
ending in the cloudland, cloudland surcharged with thun- 
der-storms, of Socialism, and other vagaries which disfig- 
ure some of their conventions, alienate fair-minded and 
moderate citizens from their side, and strengthen preju- 
dices which, though not without warrant, are mainly un- 
generous and unjust. These prejudices, though by Him 
undeserved, were arrayed against Christ, and in His times 
they were deeper than they are now, and they unques- 
tionably demanded more than human power to overcome. 

Moreover, he had to encounter the strange aversion of 
men to what is claimed to be new light on the subject of 
religion. Even the most daring innovators in other 
departments of knowledge appear reluctant to admit any 
addition to what they have been taught in this. They 
generally fight it, and when compelled to accept it do so 
ungraciously, as though they were personally injured by 
the concession. It is said that when Faraday on one occa- 
sion was performing the experiment of eliciting a spark 
from a magnet, a dignified, dull-headed clergyman pres- 
ent, who dimly perceived what it meant, exclaimed in 
tones of mournful reproof, am sorry for it! I am sorry 
for it!” He turned slowly to reach the door that he might 
leave the room, and as he departed he repeated his wail. 


118 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


“Indeed I am sorry for it! It’s putting new arms into 
the hands of the incendiary!” Alas for the Dean! he 
could not perceive the connection between these experi- 
ments and the light that shall yet blaze on sea and land, 
and which shall cheer many a lonely traveler and res- 
cue many an imperiled mariner. If science at times is 
thus received, with yet greater suspicion is every spark 
emitted from learning or reflection that casts an illumin- 
ating ray on religion greeted. Especially is it unwelcome 
to the average mind, if he who sheds it on the darkness is 
of lowly origin and of impoverished estate. Julian the 
apostate never could get over the fact that Jesus had been 
a carpenter. To his aristocratic mind trade unfitted the 
Nazarene for the office of teacher. The thought of a 
mechanic presuming to guide him was more than he could 
tolerate. He was not alone in his prejudice. It was 
shared by the scribes and Pharisees, who, during the min- 
istry of Jesus, objected that he was unknown to the 
schools. Now, how could such positive class bias be 
overcome? Certainly not by the distinguished social 
standing of Christ’s followers, for the rich and high-born, 
as a rule, failed to espouse His cause until it had practi- 
cally established itself without them. What Jesus was 
to the world His immediate disciples were after Him — 
men of low estate and of inferior attainments. We are 
obliged, therefore, to look beyond the circle of the human 
for the explanation of the mystery. 

If we do this everything is explicable. If we assume 
that the exaltation of Jesus from His penniless state to 
religious supremacy is attributable to the direct interposi- 
tion of God, the problem in one sense is .solved. But let 
it be remembered that Jesus claimed and accepted such 
homage as is forbidden a creature to encourage or receive. 
He represented Himself as the Son of the Highest — as 
one with the Father — and God’s approval of His work 


THE world’s master. 119 

carries with it the approval of His word. If, leaving out 
of sight this Divine interposition, we seek the elucidation 
of the enigma in a nature superior to man’s, we cannot 
deny its sufficiency, and thus on either supposition the 
conclusion we have been aiming to reach by this argument 
is attained. What that nature is which He shares not 
with men, at this time I shall not attempt to define or dis- 
cuss. It is enough for us to know that it is not of the 
earth, and cannot be measured by the standards of earth. 
Perhaps the true measure is implied in the answer of a 
saint, uttered on hearing the sneering question: “Where 
now is the carpenter Jesus?” propounded by one of 
Julian’s officers. To which the saint responded: “He is 
busy making a coffin for thy master.” And you, my 
brethren, can infer who He really is if, as is intimated in 
this reply. He holds in His hands the supreme power of 
life and death; and that He does so is the constant testi- 
mony of Scripture. There is only one sublime conclusion 
possible from premises so tremendous, and to that Schiller 
more than points when he sings, and sings in grander words 
than this poor tongue of mine can fashion: 

“ Friendless was the great world’s Master; 

And, feeling this, He made the spirit world 
Blessed mirrors of His own blessedness ! 

An d though the Highest found no equal, 

Yet infinitude foams upward unto Him 
From the vast basin of creation’s realm.” 

Secondly. The unpromising surroundings of Jesus, 
considered in connection with His wonderful exaltation, 
as it appears to me, are freighted with lessons important to 
man. They teach us to despise the reproach of poverty. 
Why, as a condition of life, it should not be as honorable 
as any other, I never could quite understand. If it is 
judged by deeds, it is likely that in worth it will be found 


120 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


to surpass all others. That which awakens family pride I 
suppose is ancestral achievements, for no particular glory 
can be derived from mere antiquity, as on that score we 
are all equal, having in common descended from Adam: 

“ From yon blue heavens above us bent 
The grand old gardener and his wife 
Smile at the claims of long descent.” 

But if this is the case, then the poor have every reason to 
hold up their head, as they came out of right noble stock, 
the quality and abundance of the fruit it has borne being 
witness. Their forefathers were the earliest and most con- 
sistent friends of liberty, and but for the personal sacrifices 
of their order liberty would be unknown among us. They 
have likewise been the most faithful and persistent sup- 
porters of religion; and in the departments of science and 
discovery they have at least accomplished as much as any 
otherSj if not more. From their ranks have sprung great 
minds, great organizers, great scholars, great poets, and 
indeed greatness of every degree and character. Why, 
then, should anyone blush on account of such genealogy? 
Is not the name of Jesus, that Being from whom the world 
has received its chief blessings, enrolled among the poor? 
In taking upon Himself this condition has He not elevated 
it above that of princes and kings ? And is it not absurd to 
be ashamed of that which He has sanctified? And is it 
not worse than absurd, is it not wicked, for those who 
have but recently escaped from poverty, and whose 
parents or grandparents were familiar with its trials, to 
speak slightingly and superciliously of that which the 
Lord did not disdain? 

But if, like our Savior, we should despise the reproach 
of poverty, we should also learn, like Him, to overcome 
its disabilities. Rest assured that man is not the slave of 
circumstances. They have been mastered, they can be 


SELF-RELIANCE. 


121 


mastered still. There are instances in every city, and in 
every congregation, of success in this respect that should 
forever hush the complaints of those who feel that they 
can do nothing but bewail their lot. The great majority 
of our princely merchants, and of our leaders in art, 
science, religion and politics, made themselves what they 
are, laid the foundations of their fortunes, with their own 
hands, and, like Napoleon, with their own hands placed 
the crown of empire on their head. American society is 
a standing rebuke to those who fold their arms in in- 
glorious apathy, and insist doggedly that they cannot 
contend with evil fortune. Believe them not, young men. 
To the manly soul all things are possible. Application, 
perseverance, courage, enterprise can remove as many 
mountains as faith, and more than faith can remove when 
it is destitute of these qualities. You would have blushed 
to have believed otherwise on the field of Buena Vista, 
where five thousand Americans confronted twenty thou- 
sand Mexicans. There you would have fought. And 
here, though the odds be as great against you, ignore 
your dreary fatalistic philosophy, and fight as earnestly as 
you would there, and the result will be as glorious. 

One other lesson. In taking on Himself the life of 
poverty, it seems to me our Savior designed to illustrate 
the spiritual condition of humanity. The soul is desti- 
tute, hungry, naked, shelterless. It must have heavenly 
food or it dies; it must have righteousness for clothing, or 
it is exposed to wrath; it must have refuge from the 
storm of justice, or it perishes. Not more forlorn and 
helpless is a beggar’s babe abandoned in the streets of a 
tempest-devastated city than is a soul left to itself in this 
world of bleak and howling evil. Here is indigence sur- 
passing man’s energy to subdue, indigence that can only 
be relieved by One greater than the race. That One is 
Jesus, who, though ‘‘ He was rich, yet for your sakes became 


122 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


poor that ye through His poverty might be rich.” His ex- 
altation, being what it is, we have the pledge that, as He 
hath ascended so high above His former lowly condition. He 
hath the power and the grace to meet the soul’s spiritual 
necessities, and will, if trusted, “enrich it in everything 
to all bountifulness,” causing therein “thanksgiving.” Let 
us then take up the poet’s exhortation, and with the voice 
of melodious desire exclaim: 

“ Gate of my heart, fly open wide — 

Shrine of my heart spread forth ; 

The treasure will in thee abide, 

Greater than heaven and earth. 

Away with all this poor world’s treasures. 

And all this vain world’s tasteless pleasures, 

My treasure is in heaven ; 

For I have found true riches now, 

My treasure, Christ, my Lord, art Thou, — 

Thy blood so freely given.” 


IX. 

THE FOLLOWEES OF JESUS. 

“ Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me, and of My words, 
in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son 
of Man be ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of His Father, 
with the holy angels.” Mark 38 . 

D ean trench, in one of his earlier poems, de- 
scribes a youth who had in vain sought religious 
consolation at the shrine of culture, and who, on becom- 
ing disheartened and discouraged, abandoned his home 
for a lonely abode in the desert. There with the arid 
wastes around him, and the frivolities of worldly society 
banished from him, he comes no nearer to the fount of peace 
than he did when enlightenment and refinement lavished 
their gifts upon him. His soul is unsatisfied, and craves 
what neither the solitudes of Nature nor the graces of 
culture could bestow. Embittered, disconsolate, despair- 
ing, he contemplates self-inflicted death, when his melan- 
choly meditations are interrupted by an aged man, who 
tenderly seeks to know the source of his sorrow. The 
youth, drawn to the venerable father by the benignity of 
his manner, tells him the story of his failure, and confesses 
that all his endeavors have been unavailing to preserve 
his heart from impurity and sorrow. Touched by the re- 
cital, the reverend stranger reveals to him the cause of his 
disappointment and the means of its cure: 

“ You thought by efforts of your own 
To take at last each jarring tone 
Out of your life, till all should meet 
In one majestic music sweet, 

123 


124 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


And deemed that in your own heart’s ground. 

The root of good was to be found. 

But, thanks to Heaven, it is not so. 

That root a richer soil doth know 
Than our poor hearts could e’er supply — 

That stream is from a source more high. 

From God it came, to God returns. 

Not nourished from our scanty urns, 

But fed from His unfailing river. 

Which runs and will run on forever.” 

This is Christ’s doctrine. To the woman of Samaria He 
said: “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is 
that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldst have 
asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water.” 
To which He adds: “ Whosoever drinketh of the water 
that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that 
I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing 
up into everlasting life.” In this passage He affirms, as 
He does in many others, that He Himself is the fountain 
of the soul’s spirituality — the ultimate and all-sufficient 
means of its salvation. As the light which irradiates the 
globe is from above, as the rains that refresh the earth are 
from the clouds, and as the moon on high governs the 
ocean’s tides below, so the influences which quicken the 
religious life of man are external to himself and come 
down from Heaven. Christ is the all-glorious and all- 
luminous orb that disperses the darkness which has gath- 
ered round faith and hope, and that regulates the surging 
tides of passionate desire; and He also is the gracious 
flood which sweeps away the vile brood and poison growth 
of sin, and that develops the wholesome and fragrant plants 
of righteousness and peace. Neither culture nor art, nor 
beauty can do what He does. His work is exceptional, 
peculiar and unapproachable. Hence, He claims to be 
“The Way, the Truth and the Life;” hence. He invites 


CONFESSING THE TEACHER. 


125 


the weary and heavy-laden to come unto Him, to em- 
brace, trust, and appropriate Him, and hence it is that 
faith in Him becomes the starting-point of true disciple- 
ship. 

A disciple is one who learns, one who learns with the view 
of practicing, and necessarily implies previous confidence 
in Him who is the teacher. Who would sit down at the 
feet of Plato, or Kant, or Proctor, or Darwin, without 
being satisfied of his ability to guide and enlighten ? No 
one — at least no one in his senses. Believing that Newton 
or Bacon is supreme in his special department of inquiry, 
you submit your intellect to his instruction. You would 
not be willing to study art under him; for you are con- 
vinced that he is as unfitted to direct you in that depart- 
ment as Perugino or Raphael would be to teach in phi- 
losophy. Precisely in the same way, trust in the Son of 
God must precede, and is the indispensable condition of 
discipleship. There must be such confidence in Him that 
the mind will be constrained to abandon itself to His 
thought; and He, being the Redeemer from sin and sorrow, 
there must be such reliance on Him that heart and life will 
yield themselves freely to His influence. But this is not all. 
The Master insists that the scholar shall acknowledge Him, 
that he shall not blush for the school in which he learns, 
nor be ashamed of the wisdom he receives. He is to con- 
fess Him before men, to take up the cross, symbol of the 
fundamental Christian idea, and follow Him through evil 
as well as through good report. Nor is the demand 
unreasonable. A mere inquirer, like Nicodemus, may 
come to the Savior by night, but the anxious ruler was 
not then a disciple. Secrecy is inconsistent with faith. 
If we trust, instinctively we avow, unless restrained by 
some overmastering fear. A Pharisee or a Sadducee did 
not hesitate to make known the sect whose tenets he 
espoused; neither should we. 


126 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


The Roman would not deny his allegiance to the im- 
perial eagle which he defended; and in our day it would 
be regarded as baseness for a man to repudiate the mother 
who bore him, the country that sheltered him, or the college 
that educated him. Much more base is it for a soul which 
has accepted Jesus as Prophet, Priest, and King, which has 
found in Him a glory greater than ever circled the ancient 
seven-hilled city, and received from Him favors which 
excel in grandeur all that parents, country, or school can 
confer, to be ashamed of Him or of His cause. Well 
might the indignant poet sing: 

“Ashamed of Jesus! sooner far 
May evening blush to own a star. 

Ashamed of Jesus! just as soon 

Might midnight blush to think of noon — 

’Twas midnight with my soul till He, 

Bright Morning Star, bade darkness flee.” 

Such also is the mind of Christ. He means to be ac- 
knowledged. The universe at last shall pay tribute to His 
name; for every knee shall bow to Him, and every tongue 
shall confess that He is Christ to the glory of God the 
Father; but until then He commands that they who have 
received religious life from Him, and who depend upon 
His grace for their final glorification, shall openly, publicly, 
and without equivocation or hesitancy, manifest in charac- 
ter and conduct whose they are and whose they expect to 
be forevermore. 

In character and conduct — but how, in what respect 
and in what degree, are disciples thus to proclaim their 
Lord and the relationship which exists between them ? 
This is the special inquiry I desire to prosecute in the 
present discourse, and I hope it may prove serviceable to 
those who have already entered on the Christian course, 
and may encourage others to follow their example. 

It may be well, for the sake of avoiding misconception, 


UNIFORMITY IMPOSSIBLE. 


127 


that we discriminate between what is required of disciples 
in common, and the preservation of their individuality. 
We are not to suppose that the latter is to be sacrificed 
to the former; or, in other words, that personal identity 
is to be obliterated by religious profession. Such a thing 
in my judgment is really impossible, but it has been at- 
tempted, and probably still is, by a few misguided persons. 
The sacred orders of olden times undertook to shape the 
thinking, acting, and feeling of their members by one rule. 
They were to eat at the same hour and partake of the 
same food; they were to believe alike, sleep alike, pray 
alike, walk and talk alike; and to have the same senti- 
ments and emotions, if, under the circumstances, emotions 
they could have at all. Every novice was to be squeezed 
into the same mold, or stretched and flattened to the pre- 
scribed height and breadth of orthodox proportions. But 
even monks would revolt occasionally from this mechanical 
process, which presupposed them to be merely clay, and 
assumed that their noblest destiny was, like other clay, to 
be shaped into bricks. Sometimes a round man resented 
the effort to put him into a square hole, and a tall one 
would not consent to be topped for the gratification of his 
shorter brethren. Such schemes have especially failed 
when attempted by Protestants, to the genius of whose 
religion they are utterly alien. Even our good Quaker 
friends, whose sincerity and piety we esteem, were unable 
to overcome the natural distinctions which separate man 
from man. They might wear the same colored coats and 
have them cut in the same way, and they might conform 
speech and action to one prescribed form, nevertheless 
their individuality would assert itself and deride the arti- 
fices by which for a season it had been obscured. We 
never can succeed in making all Christians take identical 
views of what they should wear, what amusements they 
should encourage, what branch of religious usefulness they 


128 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


should follow, and what social regulations they should 
adopt. It is absurd to think otherwise, and equally as 
undesirable as unreasonable. 

In the New Testament we find nothing to encourage 
such folly. There the disciples are presented as differing 
from each other. They are one in all the essentials of their 
confession, but they are manifold as human beings. The 
personal peculiarities of Peter, John, and the rest are 
clearly discernible beneath the vestments of their religious 
calling. Peter is bold, impetuous, and sensitive; John is 
zealous, affectionate, and sympathetic; Thomas is cold, 
cautious, and skeptical; James is practical, energetic, and 
vehement; Philip is thoughtful, inquiring and decisive; 
and Simon, called Zelotes, most likely was fervent, radi- 
cal, and just a little fanatical. They were good men and 
true, but no one of them could have been mistaken 
for the other. A few of them were men of decided 
ability, and rose preeminently above their brethren in in- 
tellectual power and executive skill. But we really 
know very little of the majority of those who were apos- 
tles. They lived and toiled unnoticed, and died unsung, 
not even their great office being able to redeem them from 
obscurity. As it is in every department of thought and 
action, a few were qualified to be leaders, and the others, 
though of equal rank, were obliged to follow. From all of 
which we may learn that discipleship is compatible with 
every variety of endowment, and that the Kingdom of 
Christ is broad enough, and sufficiently free from dicta- 
tion regarding matters of meat, drink, dress, and forms 
of worship, to allow all kinds of personal qualities free 
play and ample scope. Indeed, the power of God’s 
Kingdom in the earth is largely due to the multiplied 
gifts which it has enlisted in its service. It has used all 
talents, aptitudes, and peculiarities, and they have reached 
and influenced classes of people to whom they were ex- 


CHARACTERISTICS OF DISCIPLESHIP, 


129 


actly adapted. Genius in the Church has swayed genius 
in the world; sagacity, courage, enterprise have affected 
for good those individuals in society who have an affinity 
for such qualities. Thus diversity within has touched 
diversity without; and apart from it, little if anything 
would be accomplished in religion to-day. It is, there- 
fore, the duty of every Christian to preserve his identity, to 
be himself under all circumstances, and to bring to bear on 
the spiritual well-being of his fellow-creatures the entire 
force of his personality. 

This point being guarded, we are prepared to consider 
the common and indispensable features of true disciple- 
ship. Christ demands that He Himself and His words 
shall be confessed; or to employ a term that comprehends 
both ideas — Christianity — He demands that that shall be 
avowed in character and conduct. Now, if we can only 
determine what are the predominant traits of the Christian 
system, we can very readily decide on what is involved in 
this requirement. In attempting this, I submit the follow- 
ing propositions and corollaries: 

First. Christianity is a positive system, and disciples 
must therefore be uncompromising in character and con- 
duct. It is altogether a mistake to suppose that Jesus 
came into the world to say nothing definite. He had ideas 
and they were expressed clearly and sharply. There is 
not an instance in His ministry of His repudiating, modi- 
fying, or obscuring truth for the sake of pleasing high or 
low, rich or poor. He was faithful to the light that was 
in Him. His teachings were not as the uncertain dawn, 
but as the sun; not as the colors, mingling confusedly 
with each other, of the aurora borealis, but as the sharp 
outlines of the stars, and like sun and stars He shed His 
luster unhesitatingly on the world. The religion He 
founded has likewise something to say. It may only be 
an echo of His word, but it is an unmistakable echo. The 
9 


130 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


doctrines it proclaims are identical with His, but they are 
doctrines. An evil day it was when the authority of 
what was revealed was treated lightly, and when a worldly 
party in the Church began to adopt heathen rites and cus- 
toms, and sought to assimilate the teachings of Christ to 
pagan philosophy. The door was then opened for the in- 
coming of errors, which have bred ecclesiastical divisions 
and prepared the way for the heresy of our own times, 
which proclaims that it is unimportant what a man be- 
lieves if he is only sincere, and that Jesus never intended 
that His words should be interpreted strictly and literally, 
but only fluidly and figuratively. We already see the 
outcome of these pernicious sentiments. With the decay 
of doctrine has come the decay of faith, and the more 
truth’s authority has been questioned piety’s vigor has 
been diminished. If disciples would be like their Master, 
and if they would share in His ministry, they must stand 
by the truth. They must neither sell it nor betray it, nor 
refine it, nor distill it; and they must at all times and 
under all disadvantages, declare, define, and defend it. 
Not, however, alone must this be done by speech, but by 
deeds as well. The truth must be lived as well as taught. 
And herein lies the essential distinction between the true 
and the false disciple. The latter is uncompromising in 
dogma only; the former is equally uncompromising in 
conduct. The genuine follower of Christ tries to reduce 
to practice what he believes, and will sturdily refuse to 
comply with such usages of trade or society as are incom- 
patible with his profession. Whenever such a man is 
found he is verily a living and illustrated epistle of the 
faith he holds, which every one can read and understand 
without an interpreter. 

Secondly. Christianity is a self-sacrificing system, and 
disciples must, therefore, be unselfish in character and con- 
duct. It is founded on the self-abnegation and self-sur- 


THE BEAUTIFUL BOOK. 


131 


render of its Head. Whatever may be the correct view 
to take of His sufferings and death, it cannot be denied 
that they were for the good of mankind. Jesus was not 
influenced by a single selfish motive or feeling in all that 
He did, and in all that He endured. He gave Himself for 
others. This is the sublime spirit of redemption. God 
yields up Himself, Christ yields up Himself, and the 
Church is to yield up herself for the undeserving and 
wretched. You remember how the nation and the world 
turned toward you as a city in the time of your calamity, 
how their sympathy and gifts poured in upon you as the 
many-mouthed river pours its floods from many sources 
into the sea. And thus there is an overflowing of all that 
is good and gracious in the universe toward our earth, 
stricken, ravaged, desolated by what is infinitely more 
terrible than fire. Can you not therefore perceive how 
contradictory and anomalous the position of the religious 
professor is who, satisfied with his own fancied security, 
never feels and never manifests the least solicitude for the 
salvation of his fellow-creatures ? This is strikingly illus- 
trated by Aldrich’s Jerome, in his poem entitled the 
Beautiful Booh. You may remember that the friar was 
anxious to do something to win God’s favor, and under- 
took to illuminate the pages of the Apocalypse. This de- 
lightful work so engaged his time and thought that he 
neglected the poor, and became oblivious even to the 
plague which was decimating the village and monastery 
alike. At last he came to paint the image of the Lord in 
the terrible glory of the Second Advent, but his hand had 
lost its cunning, the colors refused to express his thought, 
and as he meditated on this strange inability, he realized 
that he had been selfishly engaged in seeking his own — his 
own salvation, his own pleasure and fame. Mortified at 
the discovery, he drew the cowl over his head, laid aside 
his brushes, and went down among the sick and dying to 


132 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


minister to their needs. Nor did he return until he him- 
self was smitten with the fatal disease. Then did he 
totter back to his easel, and his beautiful book. He 
knelt before it that he might undertake devoutly to com- 
plete it. But to his surprise he saw that some angel hand 
had finished the work, and in a manner surpassing human 
skill. When one of his brother monks entered his cell, 
he found him on his knees — dead. This legend has its 
counterpart in the life of many a disciple. Absorbed in 
some congenial pursuit, it may be money-making, fame- 
making, and even sermon-making, not unfrequently he 
quite overlooks the sufferings and sorrows of the millions 
around him. The Beautiful Booh must not go unfin- 
ished, however the necessities of men must be neglected 
in zeal for its perfection. It is not realized that attend- 
ance to the wants of others would call down Heaven’s 
blessing and Heaven’s aid, and that the object of ambi- 
tion might be more grandly attained, as it was in the case 
of Jerome, by greater self-forgetfulness and a larger sym- 
pathy with the unfortunate. No, instead of this, the soul 
is given to its own, its own longings, its own welfare, its 
own glory. Alas! that this abnormal spirit should be as 
prevalent as it is, and that many should fail to realize that 
it is absolutely irreconcilable with their vows. They have 
declared themselves cross-bearers for Jesus’ sake, and their 
whole endeavor seems to be, not merely to escape the 
cross, but to be borne in a chariot of ease to the sky. 
These men and women who have espoused a self-denying 
faith are as hard to please, are as exacting, stand as 
rigidly on their rights, and are as unwilling to submit to 
inconveniencies even though the prosperity of Christ’s 
Kingdom may depend upon their action, as the haughty 
pagan who resents the slightest opposition to his will. 
They reverse the principle of our Lord’s mission — they 
demand to be ministered unto and never to minister to 


THE CLAIMS OF TRUTH. 


133 


others. My brethren, if any of you err in this direction, 
permit me to remind you that the great world will measure 
the spirit of the religion you profess by your self-sacrific- 
ing character. If you are generous and disinterested, if 
you are self-denying, and self-forgetful, it will be readily 
believed that these qualities reflect the genius of the 
faith you represent; but if you are otherwise, religion 
will be regarded as equally selfish with yourselves, and 
very little concern will be felt about its claims. 

Thirdly. Christianity is a cosmopolitan system, and 
disciples must therefore be unprejudiced in character and 
conduct. The truth that Jesus revealed and the salvation 
He secured are designed for all nations, and are fitted to 
their necessities. They are adapted to the wants of all 
classes and peoples, and should be freely offered to them. 
The followers of Christ cannot consistently be exclusive 
and restrictive. They cannot do their duty if they fail to 
recognize a brother-soul in every man, whatever his color, 
his profession, or pursuit. The silly prejudices of society 
the Church should rise above and disdain. Why should 
not the Gospel be sent to foreign lands? Why should it 
be withheld from the Indian, the African, or the Chinese in 
our own ? Do you reply that you entertain what seems an 
unconquerable aversion to these aliens,* and that what you 
do in Christ’s name you prefer to do for those nearer home 
and of your own race ? But at this point arises a serious 
issue between you and your Master. He says, ‘‘Preach 
the Gospel to every creature — to all nations,” and you de- 
cline. But is it right for the servant to place himself 
above the Lord? Is it safe to revise the orders He has 
given, and under which we are expected to work? Only 
one answer can be given to such inquiries. It is His 
office to command; it is our duty to obey. Prejudices may 
also weaken the hold of truth upon us, may blind us to its 
meaning, and thus may neutralize its power. For instance, 


134 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


in the primitive period how difficult would it be for a Jew 
to reconcile himself to a faith founded on what seemed to 
be a penal execution, that practically ignored all that was 
venerable to his sires, whether in temple, ordinances, or 
traditions, and that swept away at one stroke privileges 
and expectations which had been the glory of the nation 
for ages. Similarly difficult is it to overcome antipathies 
which the free-thinking portion of the community has fos- 
tered by caricatures of the atonement and by distorted 
representations of other doctrines. But if disciples are 
governed by them they fall into a very serious error, and 
are sure to say or do things which they will ultimately 
regret. If they would be true to their obligations they 
must rise above prejudice, and must deal with men and 
things according to knowledge, and on the basis of absolute 
justice. This is the spirit of the religion they profess, and 
it must shine through them if they would win others to 
the faith of the Gospel. 

Fourthly. Christianity is a spiritual system, and disci- 
ples must, therefore, be unworldly in character and con- 
duct. “My Kingdom,” said Jesus, “is not of this world.” 
It teaches that we should set our affections on things 
above — should live for the unseen, and should walk in 
holy fellowship with God. Christianity came to overthrow 
the dominion of the temporal and fleeting, to emancipate 
man from bondage to the sensual and material, and to 
open his eyes to invisible glories and his heart to sancti- 
fying influences. But if the avowed follower of Jesus is as 
deeply concerned in the things of earth as others are, if he 
is a slave to its ambitions, a worshiper of its distinctions, 
a lover of its pleasures, he fails to express an adequate 
idea of the faith which he claims to represent. Of course, 
being in the world, there are duties he owes it, relations 
to be sustained with it, and joys to be derived from it. 
No one can reasonably object to these things. But when 


SYMBOLISM OF BAPTISM. 


135 


the world is supreme in thought and desire, and religion 
subordinate, when the whole tenor of the life creates the 
impression that the first is more important than the sec- 
ond, then he is a living contradiction of all he professes. 
For him to be an ardent admirer of the world and a devo- 
tee at its shrine, or for him to copy Redwald, the first 
royal Saxon converted to Christianity, and rear in the 
same Church one altar to the Lord and another to devils, 
is for him to declare that the one is as worthy an 
object of devotion as the other. This is misleading. It is 
calculated to do irreparable injury to thousands, and is ne- 
cessarily an inexcusable perversion of the testimony which, 
as a witness for Christ, the disciple is commissioned to bear. 

These four characteristics, added to faith in Christ, 
are essential to true discipleship, and these are adum- 
brated in the ordinance of baptism. The element, 
water, being a universal element, beating on all shores, 
flowing through all lands, drifting in all clouds, is an ex- 
pressive symbol of the expansiveness which condemns 
prejudice. Its purity, as seen in the dew-drop and the 
mountain stream, and which is an inherent property, fitly 
suggests that spirituality which should never be contami- 
nated by worldliness; and the act of immersion being a 
burial of the body in a liquid grave in obedience to a 
positive command, signifies two things — the surrender of 
the old, selfish man to death, and the submission of the 
will to the law of God without attempt to evade its import 
or to trifle with its authority. Baptism likewise and pri- 
marily refers to the leading articles of the Christian faith, 
the resurrection of Christ, the resurrection of the soul 
from spiritual death, and the resurrection of the body from 
the grave. But of these I speak not. It is enough to re- 
mind you that its reception is the formal and figurative 
declaration that you are a disciple, an uncompromising, 
unselfish, unprejudiced, and unworldly follower of Jesus. 


136 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


Glorious are the privileges of those who have thus 
avowed the Lord to be their Lord. They are taught by 
Him. By His indwelling spirit He makes them more and 
more familiar with His truth. They attain the excellency 
of the knowledge of Christ; they learn Him, as an apostle 
phrases it, and they are enriched in all spiritual wisdom. 
Moreover, He confesses them. Though they may be ob- 
scure, lowly, despised. He is not ashamed of them. He 
acknowledges them by coming to them in their solitude, 
by vindicating them in the time of their persecution, by 
delivering them from the power of temptation and from 
the bitterness of sorrow. In death He will not forsake 
them; and on that day, concerning which the poet sings, 
He will not fail to befriend them: 

“The dreadful day, the day of ire, 

Shall kindle the avenging fire 
Around the expiring world. 

And earth as Sibyl said of old. 

And as the prophet King foretold, 

Shall be in ruin hurled.” 

On that day, 

“ He will not blush to own their name 
Before His Father’s face. 

And in the New Jerusalem 
Appoint their soul a place.” 

Ye who have not despised Him on the cross, He will 
not disdain from His throne; ye who have honored Him in 
His humility. He will magnify in His glory; ye who have 
not been ashamed to acknowledge Him before a sinful and 
adulterous generation. He will not be ashamed to own 
when He cometh to make up His jewels, and to own 
before an assembled universe. 

What terms then can express the dignity of true dis- 
cipleshipl They who sustain it worthily are called “kings 
and priests;” and they are described as “heirs of God and 


GLORY OF THE CROSS. 


137 


joint heirs with Christ.” In possessions they outrank the 
most affluent of those who have only earthly treasures; in 
honors they excel the lords of this poor world, for they 
are a God-chosen generation, a royal priesthood; and in 
real greatness they surpass the poets, the painters, the 
soldiers, whose chief and sole endowment is genius; for 
they are enriched with virtues whose bloom shall never 
fade and whose fragrance shall never perish. Ah, ye who 
are panting to excel, ye who are coveting distinction, ye 
who are thirsting for wealth, here lie excellence, honor, 
and abundance at your door. Take up your cross, become 
the Lord’s disciples, and your worth shall be more pre- 
cious than rubies, and your glory more resplendent and 
enduring than suns that burn and stars that shine. 

‘ ‘ The Cross ! 0 ravishment and bliss — 

How grateful e’en its anguish is, 

Its bitterness how sweet ! 

There every sense, and all the mind. 

In all her faculties refined. 

Taste happiness complete. 

Souls, once enabled to disdain 
Base, sublunary joys, maintain 
Their dignity secure ; 

The fever of desire is passed. 

And love has all its genuine taste, 

Is delicate and pure.” 


X. 


THE EELIGIOX OF JESUS. 


“ But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall 
worship the Father in spirit and in truth : for the Father seeketh such 
to worship Him. God is a Spirit ; and they that worship Him must 
worship Him in spirit and in truth.” — John 23^ 24. 

HEN Abraham ascended Mount Moriah to honor 



V V Jehovah by a stupendous exercise of faith, it is 
said that he went there to worship: This -is the first time 
the word occurs in the Bible history of religious develop- 
ment, though we have previous traces of what it imports in 
the offerings of Cain and Abel and in the altar on which 
Noah sacrificed after the flood. An illustration of its essen- 
tial meaning we doubtless possess in the simple record, 
‘‘The man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord”; 
for here the outward reverence expresses the inward homage, 
and the bent form of the patriarch’s servant is indicative of 
awe and adoration. And this example is the more significant 
from the fact that it is not associated with a sacred building, 
hallowed season, or splendid ritual. Beneath the cloudless 
sky, by an open well, near to the city of Nahor, in the plains 
of Mesopotamia, the human soul, unaided by priest or tem- 
ple, prostrates itself in praiseful gratitude before the Divine 
Spirit. Other instances throughout the Scriptures are only 
variations of this fundamental conception. That is called 
“ worship ” by the pen of inspiration when the people stand 
spell-bound and silent in the door of their tents as the Lord 
talks with Moses on the threshold of the Tabernacle ; and the 


138 


THE UNEXPECTED. 


139 


same term is applied to the solemn act of consecration by 
which a tenth of worldly increase was devoted to the Levite, 
the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. When Job 
humbled himself submissively before the sovereign will of 
the Highest, recognizing His right to the possessions of His 
creatures, it is written that he worshiped. So is it written 
of the Magi when they laid at the feet of the infant Jesus 
their gifts of myrrh, frankincense, and gold; and when the 
Syrophenician woman implored Christ for her daughter, and 
when the leper cried, “If Thou wilt Thou canst make me 
clean,” and when the disciples in the tempest ascribed Divine 
Sonship to the Nazarene, and when after the resurrection 
they held Him, lovingly clutching His feet, and when the 
redeemed in heaven poured forth the mighty song, “ Bless- 
ing and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that 
sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and 
ever,” it is declared of one and all that they worshiped. 

How frequentl}" have commonplace events led to excep- 
tional and unexpected results. The fall of an apple, the 
flight of a kite, the agitation of a kettle’s lid, the tremor of 
a dead frog’s limbs, and modern science comes to its birth ; 
gravitation, steam, electricity, are disclosed, and Newton, 
Galvani, Volta, Edison become famous. An empty treasury 
in Rome leads to an open Bible in Germany, and friendly 
words uttered at a monastery gate prepare the way for the 
discovery of hospitable America ; and the mediocre states- 
manship and stupid arrogance of the court attached to the 
j)erson of his majesty, George of England, call forth the 
Declaration of Independence and that affluence of liberty 
enjoyed by our people to-day. Charles Darwin wrote in 
1837 that he was greatly impressed “with the character of 
South American fossils and the species on Galapago’s Archi- 
pelago ; ” and this experience, not in anywise extraordinary, 
wrought itself out in a new philosopln^ of nature which has 
shaken old theories and been epoch-making in its influence. 


140 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


And similarl}’, from circumstances of no remarkable signifi- 
cance, a doctrine was shaped and enunciated by the Christ, 
which was destined to revolutionize the views hitherto held 
concerning the relations and intercourse between the Creator 
and the creature. 

The scene where this utterance occurred was near the very 
ordinary Samaritan city, called Sychar, by a venerable well, 
where an ordinary woman was drawing water, and where the 
ordinary infirmit3"‘of thirst caused Jesus to request at her 
hands a drink. This common-place craving suggests needs 
other and graver than those of the body, and the Divine 
Teacher converses with the woman concerning the soul and 
the gift of God provided for its satisfaction. Higher and 
higher goes the preacher in His discourse, stimulated, so to 
speak, by the questions of His companion, until at last the 
summit is reached — a thought-peak sun-lit above the clouds 
— revealing to those who dare follow Him the sublimest 
aspects of our faith, the real meeting point of the finite and 
the Infinite, and the true way of approach for such beings as 
we are into the presence of the invisible God. And in this 
manner He disclosed, for the guidance of all generations, 
the genius of religion, employing the term ‘ religion ’ in its 
highest sense as describing the outgoing of the heart to the 
Supreme Being, and of its communion with Him. 

Our Saviour taught the woman of Samaria that the char- 
acter of our praise and service will be determined by the 
conception formed of the nature of God. He affirms that 
Spirit can only be worshiped by spirit. When the Athe- 
nian builds an altar, as he is ignorant of the Uncaused 
Existence, to whom can he dedicate it if not to the ‘‘ Un- 
known ; ” and in what way can he render tribute to the 
“ Undiscovered” if not by eloquent silence? How shall the 
agnostic of our time express his reverent recognition of the 
“Infinitely Possible” except by an indefinite and inarticu- 
late piety, as indefinite and vague as its object? Throughout 


THE WORSHIP OF HUMANITY. 


141 


the Old Testament idolatry debases the people who submit 
to its supremacy. Ashtoreth, Baal, and Moloch are ever 
honored according to their kind by lust, ostentation, and cru- 
elty. Readers of the Apocalypse must have been impressed 
by what they have read of a “ beast” and of his “ worship.” 
{Rev. xiii; also xvii.) The contrast between this awful 
adulation and the adoration of the Father, is doubtless 
designed and is fearfully significant. I have thought that 
reference is made to the origin of this blasphemy where it is 
written of the heathen that they “ changed the truth of God 
into a lie and worshiped and served the creature.” {Rom. 
i, 25.) And if we wonld form an idea of their ritual we 
have it in the damning rubric: “unrighteousness, forni- 
cation, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, envy, 
murder, deceit” {v. 29). How shall the animal man be 
worshiped, if not by animalism? Is the Man of Sin de- 
scribed by Paul {2 Thess. ii, 4) a phase of this exaltation of 
the creature, and is his “ sitting in the temple and showing 
himself as God ” the final stage in the history of blasphemy, 
a deification of humanity that shall prove in the end to be 
sensual and devilish? 

The Positive Philosophy already has idealized the race, 
and would rear an altar and establish a cult in its honor. 
Sacerdotalism has invested its chief with divine attributes, 
and has tendered a homage beyond what any mortal is 
entitled to receive. Can it be that in one or both of these 
remarkable movements we have the crowning manifestation 
of creature worship? Unquestionabty its spirit is involved 
in both, whether either shall prove the climax of the Apos- 
tasy or not. Now John declares that the “beast” has a 
“ mark,” and that it is imprinted on its followers ; and thus 
we return to our starting-point, that religious service will 
bear a distinct resemblance to the being served. An old 
book laid down the rule, “that a worshiper will become 
assimilated to the object worshiped ” ; he will offer an idol 


142 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


as far as he can — and an idol is not a god, but the image of 
a god — and he will take to himself the spiritual lineaments 
of the idol. I leave you to picture what this “ mark of the 
beast ” must be, what pride, ostentation, presumption, big- 
otry, selfishness, and superstition must enter into it as an 
organized ceremonial, and what vanity, haughtiness, greed, 
cruelty, passion, and sensuality must distinguish it as an 
infamous life. We cannot discuss this matter further; and, 
indeed, have only referred to it as a significant illustration 
of the principle that underlies our Lord’s statement: “ God 
is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in 
spirit and in truth.” 

What then is most needful, if we would worship right, is 
to think of God aright. Who is He? What is He? Two 
great doctrines on this subject were held respectively by 
leaders in the preek and Latin churches during the first 
four centuries of our era, and have exerted no small influence 
on theological thought ever since. The first of these schools 
regarded the Almighty as mainly immanent, as indwelling 
in His works, and would have sympathized with Words- 
worth’s conception : — 

“ A motion and a spirit that impels 
All thinking things, all objects of all thoughts, 

And rolls through all things.” 

It considered the universe as His body, and He Himself a 
soul, the soul, who shapes from within all forms of grandeur 
and of beauty. Giordano Bruno reverently called Him “ the 
Interior Artist,” as though he were a subtle genius inhabit- 
ing the marble that from within developed it into a statue of 
Apollo or of Venus. This conception, carried too far, has 
given us out and out Pantheism ; and when maintained, 
though not extremely, as an exclusive and all-sufficient view, 
has given the world the gospel of “ light and sweetness ” and 
the cult of beauty, music, picture, poetry. In the little 


THE TWO THEOLOGIES. 


143 


circles where it prevails, much is heard of “the nameless 
thought, the nameless power, the super-personal heart ” ; 
but as was predicted by the new Plato, the church founded 
thereon is “ cold and naked, a babe in a manger.” Augustine 
and the Latin Christians generally, almost entirely ignored 
this fascinating speculation, and laid stress on the Divine 
personality. To them he was preeminently an individual 
like themselves, a being exaggerated to infinitude, ruling from 
without, creating by acting externally on the material he had 
called into existence, and superintending with a wise over- 
sight every province of his illimitable domain. From this 
basal concept there was made to follow doctrines of un- 
changeable decrees, elections and reprobations, and other 
expressions of a personality, which in the nature of things is 
omnipotent, and cannot be resisted and must not be chal- 
lenged by mere creatures. AVhile some unattractive systems 
of theology have been built on this foundation, it cannot be 
denied that it has possessed an immense power over the 
human imagination, and has inspired many notable religious 
achievements. The worship it has promoted, though varying 
from extreme simplicity to excessive splendor, has consisted 
largely in special acts of homage such as an imperial tempo- 
ral sovereign may be supposed to delight in, and in building 
sacred places and observing sacred times, and in other things 
bordering occasionally on the superstitious, which are believed 
to be as necessar}’ to His honor as the forms and convention- 
alities of a royal court are considered indispensable to the 
dignity of an earthly monarch. 

Of these two theologies I am persuaded the latter has 
more to show for itself in deeds accomplished, is the more 
vigorous of the two, and produces a deeper impression on 
the uneducated mind. If the former is more directly phil- 
anthropic or benevolent, its rival is certainly more potent 
ethically and religiously. But I am convinced that we shall 
err if we accept the one to the exclusion of the other. Jesus 


144 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


unites them, and I dare not divorce them ; they are eternally 
one. Christ speaks of God as “ Spirit,” as the indwelling 
soul, as the breath, yea, the life of all things ; and then as 
the “ Father,” the personal, the One who loves, thinks, 
hears, sympathizes, wills, and who is not far from every 
one of us. 

Do you ask me to harmonize these views? He has not; 
I CANNOT. Human thought is not equal to the task; or, 
supposing that it could approximate in its profounder rev- 
eries to the truth, human speech is not equal to the state- 
ment of so blessed and bewildering a mystery. Enough for 
us to know that God is in His works as a soul and over them 
as a ruler ; that He is impersonal enough to be the life of life 
and yet sufficiently personal to be addressed in prayer, to be 
trusted and loved, and sufficiently so to be “Our Father.” 
This title reveals, so to speak, the supreme ethical character 
of the Being termed “ Spirit.” Herder and Lessing agree 
that our Lord taught: “ God is my Father or the Father of 
all men, and all men are brothers,” and I cannot interpret 
His speech in any other way. Latin theology questions, and 
its most arid and rigid school even denies this conclusion. 
It asserts that God is only father to the elect, to those who 
have been called from darkness into light ; and that all 
others are the offspring of wrath and the devil. According 
to these teachings, the innocent babe playing idly with the 
flowers, and the fair child sickening to death, and the young 
mother whose days have been spent in purity, yea, and 
gladsome maidens beautiful in virginal spotlessness, are all 
“ children of the devil,” who cannot be taught to pray “ Our 
Father” without being taught a lie, and who are, in fact, 
outcasts and orphans for no fault of their own. I do not 
believe it. Lessing and Herder, in my opinion, reflect the 
mind of the Master on this point more faithfully than Augus- 
tine and Calvin ; and whether I can reconcile the conviction 
with some unchallenged theological dogmas or not, I must 


THE POWER OF LOVE. 


145 


still hold to the universal Fatherhood of God. Though 
humanity through sin denies its sonship, though it may 
repudiate the Divine Parent, and like the prodigal have 
wandered into a far country, and though it needs the re- 
newal of the Holy Ghost to impart the consciousness of 
adoption, God is still the Father seeking to save the lost 
and wayward child. 

Oh, m3' brethren, there is something to inspire worship in 
such a sublime conception, — a being who is all-pervasive 
Spirit, who fills immensity with Himself, and who is also 
Father, loving with a Father’s heart the poorest and meanest 
of his creatures. Who can hear this and not worship? Have 
you ever read the fable : “ Orpheus took the lyre and sang 
of Chaos, and of the making of the marvelous world, and 
how all things sprang from love, who could not live alone in 
the abyss. And as he sang his voice rose from the cave, 
above the crags and through the tree-tops. And the trees 
bowed their heads when they heard it, and the gray rocks 
cracked and rang, and the forest beasts crept near to listen, 
and the birds forsook their nests and hovered round ” ? that 
is, all nature worshiped. And is it possible that a man 
should picture such a response on the part of things inan- 
imate to the announcement of love, and humanity not be 
moved to adoration by the revelation Jesus has given of 
the Infinite One? Well did Charles Lamb say, when discuss- 
ing with friends how they should receive the greatest of men 
were he to return from the dead, “Were Shakespeare to 
enter this room we would rise ; were Jesus to enter we would 
kneel.” He as the revealer of the Father, and He Himself as 
the personal expression of that Father’s shoreless love, has 
spoken such a word and been such a Word that the only con- 
ceivable answer to it is worship : we can as we hear and see 
think of nothing less than how to pour forth our praise. We 
cannot stand; we 'kneel — we worship, worship, worship ! 

Aye, but how? The Master hears the question and, smil- 


146 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


ing sweetly, answers, “ Why, in what other way than in 
spirit and in truth? for as the Father is Spirit, only such 
worship is worship in His sight.” 

It has been doubted whether in view of Christ’s disclosure 
of the Divine nature He ever intended to sanction anything 
like a public service, anything even remotely similar to the 
religious rites of the Hebrews, or anything corresponding to 
modern Sunday observances in Christian churches. If the 
doubt were otherwise expressed, I do not think it would be 
longer entertained. Were it asked. Did Jesus contemplate 
as the principal thing — even the exclusive thing — a cere- 
monial, a cult, however unobjectionable, and was this all He 
had before Him in His discourse at Jacob’s well? I would 
unhesitatingly reply in the negative ; but were it asked if He 
approved of such a measure or office and designed it to 
be tributary to His main intent, I would promptly return an 
affirmative answer. That there were congregational meet- 
ings for prayer, praise, and instruction in New Testament 
times must be conceded, and that they were to be of per- 
petual observance is equally evident. On command and 
example emanating from the highest source rest the church- 
idea and church-order that have constantly commended them- 
selves to the mind and heart of believers. But that the 
supreme aim of our Lord was not the establishment of this 
is apparent from the fact that He gives no specific instruc- 
tions for the regulating of public service, — no forms, no 
rubric, — and leaves, after unfolding fundamental principles, 
the details of mode and fashion to be determined by each 
body of people for itself. If I understand Him and the 
apostles aright, it is the business of the Church to illustrate 
and actualize in her services the worship described in the 
Scripture we are studying ; but they did not purpose it 
should end there, — rather that it should begin there, and 
become the every-day life and habit of all peoples. She is 
to represent to the eye and — more than that — maintain the 


THE HIGHER WORSHIP. 


147 


consciousness of man’s relations with the Supreme and the 
privileges and duties the}' involve ; and what she seeks to 
accomplish at particular periods and through specific acts 
humanity is to experience and express at all times and in 
every deed performed. It is wrong to say that worship is 
not a function of the saints collectively, that is, of the 
Church ; it were equally indefensible to claim that it is not 
a function of the saints separately, that is, of the individual ; 
and it were worse than all to affirm that essentially, in fun- 
damentals, what is offered by the unit may be different from 
what ought to be offered by the aggregate, or that in the 
congregation it is permitted to be otherwise than as is en- 
joined on the individual believer. When the Etruscan artist 
prepared a ring, as the pure metal was too soft to bear 
hammer or file, he alloyed the material that it might possess 
the necessary quality of resistance. The circlet once formed 
and ornamented, he disengaged the alloy, and the pure gold 
remained. Now, similarly, our Lord is seeking to perfect 
worship ; but He has to employ an inferior element, a spe- 
cific institution with its poor exercises, to accomplish His end. 
But this, like the alloy, is transitory ; and when His purpose 
is triumphant in the heavenly state, it also shall be elimi- 
nated, and only the pure gold continue. 

We shall contribute to the consummation of this design if 
we only try to comprehend and apply the characteristics of 
true worship which Jesus unfolded to the woman of Samaria, 
and which were necessarily fixed and determined, not by 
arbitrary enactment, but as He taught, by the nature of the 
being whom He revealed as its object. They are only two, 
“SPIRIT,” “truth,” — heart, head; emotion, intelligence; — 
the whole man going forth to lose itself in fellowship with 
the Unseen. Hence, Hegel writes truly, “Worship is pri- 
marih' an inward act of faith, the living communion of the 
Ego with God.” “If God speaks. He speaks spiritually; 
for spirit reveals itself to spirit only.” “The end and aim 


148 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


of worship is self-sacrifice, self-renunciation, and the appro- 
priation of the Divine grace.” 

Let us look a little more closely at the two supreme condi- 
tions announced by Christ. By the former of the two com- 
prehensive terms employed by the Savior there is forever 
swept away a tissue of ideas that had wrought much mischief 
in the ancient world. It is a word of emancipation, and 
would have proven so, if the senses had not again led multi- 
tudes of believers back into bondage. The Samaritan woman 
had inquired of Jesus whether Jerusalem or Gerizim was the 
sacred spot where worship was rendered acceptable ; and His 
answer was in effect that place had nothing to do with it 
whatever, that neither buildings nor soil could impart sanc- 
tity to the soul’s intercourse with its Maker. What a revolu- 
tionary utterance was this ! what an upturning of venerable 
tradition and of popular prejudice ! Had our Lord forgotten 
that Balaam had associated Deity with certain localities, and 
had sought out a particular spot where he could curse with 
impunity the white tents of Israel? Had He lost sight of the 
fact that Elkanah and Hannah went up to Shiloh, where the 
ark was, to worship ; that Daniel looked toward Jerusalem 
when he prayed in Babylon ; and that on the revolt of the 
ten tribes, for political reasons, it was deemed important that 
the rebels should be convinced that Dan and Bethel were as 
sacred as Mount Zion? No ; Jesus had not overlooked these 
significant incidents in the history of His race or others like 
them ; onl}’ the hour had arrived for this childishness to end, 
and He announced to His solitary listener the transition to 
tlie era of manliness. Henceforward neither in Gerizim, O 
Samaritan! nor in Jerusalem, O Jew! shall men worship; 
but everywhere, even where the ground is not consecrated, 
there the human spirit can have commerce with the Eternal 
Spirit. Paul, the apostle, interprets Christ when he writes 
to the Philippians, “We are of the circumcision which wor- 
ship God in spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have 


SUPREMACY OF SPIRIT. 


149 


no confidence in the flesh ” ; and he gives us the real phi- 
losophy of his Master’s doctrine in the discourse which he 
delivered on Mars’ Hill {Acts xvii, 24-30), in which he 
argues that, as the Lord is ruler of heaven and earth, He. 
cannot dwell in temples made with hands nor be moved with 
material offerings, as though He needed anything ; neither is 
there one people who have access into His presence to the 
exclusion of others ; for all are His offspring, and of one 
blood has He made all who dwell on the earth, and all live 
and move and have their being in Him. But, my brethren, 
this comment and exposition goes farther even than to deny 
to localitj’ any special holiness ; it also denies that any par- 
ticular season or any class or any individual is longer to be 
regarded as necessary to impart worth or value to religious 
service. We are all iutempled in God, and we are, therefore, 
as near to Him as any priest or minister ; and wherever we 
are and whenever we please, witliont the aid of human me- 
diator, we can hold communion with Him. 

Surely at this late day we ought not to shrink from receiving 
to the full our Lord’s declarations on these points. There is 
no longer a priestly order, no men anointed and consecrated, 
to render possible the soul’s intercourse with the Almighty. 
We have preachers, teachers, officials in the interest of wise 
administration, but no sacerdotal nexus between the creature 
and Creator, for the race itself is homed in the Infinite. Nor 
is there any building more redolent with sanctity than the 
wildest glen, or the most desolate mountain summit, or the 
most wretched hovel. Remember God is a Spirit, and is 
everywhere ; and He has therefore rendered the entire uni- 
verse a holy place, fitted to quicken religious aspirations and 
praise. Nay, we have not even in the ritualist’s sense a 
sacred time. The Sabbath of the Jews passed away with 
their priesthood and their temple. Luther was not far wrong, 
though not wholly right, when, referring to the seventh day’s 
rest he writes: “If anywhere the day is made holy for the 


150 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


mere day’s sake, then I command you ... do anything 
that will reprove this encroachment on Christian spirit and 
liberty.” I believe that all time is sacred, and all acts that 
are not morally wrong or tend to evil are sacred, too. In 
other words, in this world, there can onl}- be two qualities, 
— the sacred and the profane ; and these cannot be affirmed 
of things, but of motives and of acts. The whole world is 
sacred, as God dwells in it ; humanity is essentially sacred, 
as God hath redeemed it ; marred, however, by the profane, 
or the sinful, seeking to subdue and to destroy it. All time 
is sacred, for there is no day in all the year in which men 
are permitted to do evil, nor any moment not subcharged 
with the omnipresence of the Almighty. In common with 
multitudes of other Christians I have held for many years 
that the old Mosaical Sabbath, especially as encumbered by 
traditional observances of the later Jews, was superseded 
b}’ the Christian Sunday, which is to be observed as a day 
of rest ; and, therefore, I believe in the suspension, so far 
as possible, of all toil, and in the importance of preserving 
the day for the best interests of the working people. Also 
that it should be devoted to worship, the development of 
man’s higher nature, and to rejoicing — not meaning by the 
latter term amusements, which certainly would neither pro- 
mote nor advance the broader or deeper culture of the race, 
but the indulgence of all glad feelings and emotions spring- 
ing from our recognition of God’s goodness both in provi- 
dence and redemption. I deem it a grievous error, growing 
out of times less enlightened than our own, to draw a sharp 
line between the religious and the secular. There is still an 
impression that religion is one thing and worldly pursuits 
another. Whereas, all life should be sanctified. To go to 
church Sunday and be in an hour religious for the whole 
week is foreign to the genius of our faith, and it is the fruit- 
ful source of those inconsistencies which are so disastrous to 
the confidence of the community. It is against the dividing 


RELIGION AND REALITIES. 


151 


of what God has joined together I protest. Religion should 
dwell at the heart of the secular, and every hour and in every 
place render it beautiful with holiness. 

When this lesson has been acquired, and when the thought 
of worship has been purged of the crudities we have noticed, 
then the truer and nobler idea becomes gloriously apparent. 
We then perceive that it is primarily spiritual affinity and 
spiritual correspondence, a gladsome going out of the soul 
to its Author, a constant movement toward Him, combined 
with a continuous self-conforming to His image, to His 
purity. His compassion. His love. In prayer we worship, 
for supplication is the manifestation of our passion for God- 
likeness ; in praise we worship, for adoration is our homage 
to what we desire to be, and to what the Supreme necessa- 
rily is ; and we worship in all endeavors to abate the woe, 
degradation, and suffering of others, for by these means we 
come to show more and more the nature of the Deity. And 
only in proportion as divine services in churches are prolific 
in these results are they of any value to society or of any 
concern whatever to the Almighty. 

Another essential of religion or worship remains to be 
considered; ‘‘Truth.” In expounding this portion of our 
Lord’s address we should take account of the probability 
that He was thinking of the symbolism that was so marked 
a feature of ancient faiths. It has been surmised that 
when He said on one occasion, “I am the true Vine,” His 
eye rested on the golden image of a vine that ornamented 
the Temple, and that He meant by the term “ true” to say, 
as in contrast with the artificial, that He was the real vine, 
from whose living stock the branches derived their sound- 
ness and beauty. So, by Jacob’s well He announces the 
dethronement of symbolism. No longer will the Father 
tolerate bleeding victims, smoking altars, bedizened priests, 
and all the paraphernalia of religious formalism. “ At the 
times of this ignorance He winked,” but now demands the 


152 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


real, the real sacrifice of the real Paschal Lamb, real praises 
instead of columned perfume from emblematic censer, the 
real conversion of human hearts instead of circumcisions’ 
sign in the fiesh, and real pilgrimages of mercy and genuine 
deeds of love instead of theatrical processions and dramatical 
genuflexions. The meaning of all this to our own times is 
that gorgeous ceremonialism as ceremonialism is not worship. 
Of course there may be worshiping souls where it is present, 
but the thing itself, however ornate, is not worship. It 
may be vanity, ostentation, the parade of human infirmities, 
pride, and ambition ; and it may have a kind of usefulness 
in amusing the crowds and keeping them from debasing 
shows ; but it is not worship. At the best, it displays too 
much of man’s love of finer}^ and spectacularism, and min- 
isters too fully to the senses for it to aid devotion, in the 
spiritual import of that word. The real has come once and 
for all into the place of the artificial, the decorative, and the 
unveracious. No shams, no make-believe groans, no affec- 
tation of sanctity, no cant, no assumptions, or little con- 
ventional hypocrisies, — but a straight out and out manly 
godliness, full of gentle candor, and distinguished in every 
religious service by thorough genuineness. Such is the ideal 
of our Lord, and its realization calls 'for thoughtfulness, 
intelligence, as well as personal integrity and veracity. 

It may be intimated that the preservation of baptism and 
the Lord’s Supper in the Church challenges the soundness 
of my interpretation of the word “ true.” This, however, 
depends on the actual import and purpose of the ordinances. 
Emanuel Kant writes on this point : “ Baptism and the Lord’s 
Supper may be looked upon as ethical observances for the 
public confession and quickening of the feelings of duty and 
brotherly love in a community ; but to regard them as means 
of grace in the sense that b}' these ceremonies the Divine 
favor might be flattered and won would be heathenish super- 
stition, and could only lead to contempt for virtue and the 


MODERN FETISHISM. 


153 


greater influence of the priesthood as the dispensers of grace.” 
1 hold substantially this view, and believe that these acts are 
pictures, object-lessons, portraying the central verities of our 
faith, but are not “ rites magical to sanctif}'.” They are 
not channels by which mysterious grace is communicated to 
unregenerate souls, and ought not to be described as sacra- 
ments or by any other term that would lead the unwary to 
rel3' on them as in some way indispensable to salvation. 
The ordinances are symbols of instruction, and they are 
rather in their essential nature ethical and spiritual than 
ritualistic and ceremonial, — ethical, for they call for and 
express conscientious obedience ; and spiritual, for they 
avow the reality of spiritual life already experienced by 
those who submit to their authority. 

Let us never fail to make this distinction clear and com- 
plete ; and let us never fail to realize that any so-called 
religious acts, undertaken without an intelligent purpose and 
without an intelligent apprehension of their purport, must 
come short of God’s approval. When the Bible is read, not 
for the sake of the knowledge it is fitted to impart or for 
the inspiration to duty that arises from a sympathetic under- 
standing of its teachings, but for the satisfaction of doing 
something presumably devout^ the exercise is superstitious 
and hardl}' better than the mechanical counting of beads or 
repeating of Pater Nosters. Every sort of Fetishism is an 
abomination to the Almighty, whether it obtains among 
Protestants, Romanists, or Pagans. To keep Sunday* as 
a solemn, somber species of asceticism, or to attend church 
as a kind of penance, under the impression that the per- 
functory performance of these things must in some mysterious 
way be beneficial, is simply to incur the deserved rebuke 
uttered by Jesus at Jacob’s well: “Ye know not what ye 
worship ” ; or if you know, you insult the eternal Intelligence 
b}" offering the “ sacrifice of fools.” 

It must surely be evident to you, if enlightenment is of 


154 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


such moment, that instruction ought to form part of “ divine 
service,” and that investigation must be a constant duty on 
the part of all men. Recalling the stress laid by the Savior 
on the word “know” in the context, and perceiving the 
indispensableness of knowledge, I am persuaded that that 
must be included in our definition of “ truth” as an element 
of religion. Not only is truth as reality and veracity need- 
ful, but it is also requisite as doctrine or as the substance 
of faith. The clearer, deeper, profounder our comprehen- 
sion of God and His ways, the spirit-condition being equal, 
the higher and nobler will be our homage. Jesus reproved 
the Pharisees, saying, “ In vain do ye worship Me, teaching 
for doctrines the commandments of men ” ; thereby declaring 
that error tends to vitiate this blessed service, and that 
teaching is part of it, and that truth is inseparable from its 
right performance. What degree of error is fatal to its 
acceptance it is not necessary to determine ; as it is enough 
for us to feel the importance of being free from it altogether. 
It is for us to conclude that faithful preaching is an act of 
worship, and that earnest devout hearing is to be considered 
in the same light. The passion and enthusiasm to know 
more of the Father, the persevering, persistent inquiry after 
Him and His will, on the part either of pulpit or pew, is 
adoration of the purest and most exalted type, alike honoring 
to Him who receives it, and elevating to those by whom is 
tendered. And yet we hear much in our day of the pre- 
eminent value of heart-w'orship, and by some illogical souls 
the impression is made that the head has no part or call 
in the matter. It seems to be overlooked by these fervid 
exhorters that reason is as much a creation of God as the 
affections ; and they know little of the relationship between 
them, or they would perceive that uncontrolled by the former 
the tribute of the latter is neither very flattering nor endur- 
ing ; and they have certainly forgotten that the Bible com- 
mands us to praise God with the understanding as well as 


REASON IN WORSHIP. 


155 


with the spirit. It is to me most singular that we should 
boast our possession of a religion surcharged with thought, 
and that demands thought for its interpretation, and yet 
at times should be so suspicious and fearful of its exercise. 
Nevertheless such is the case. Not long since I heard a prom- 
inent clergyman preach on the theme “ Reasonable Service,” 
and yet he made a feeble apology for the most infantile use 
of our faculties in doing God’s will. He seemed apprehen- 
sive that some one would accuse him of rationalism — a word 
that has been abused undoubtedly, but which to all of us 
ought to have a wholesome significance and indicate an obli- 
gation in connection with the Christianity we profess. I 
admit the possibility of perversion and danger in exercising 
thought, but no more than is possible in giving rein to feel- 
ing. The one may deceive, the other mislead ; the one may 
blight as with frost, the other may scorch as with fire. I 
have known more persons seek in their emotions the meaning 
of God’s Word than I have those who have looked to their 
inner consciousness for its interpretation; and I am sure the 
indulgence of sentimentality has caused more heretics than 
investigation has, and an effusive, gushing, non-enquiring 
piety has caused more presumption and arrogance tlian has 
generally followed the devout patient employment of the 
intellect. Sapere aude! “ Dare to use thy own understand- 
ing,” and use it in religion as well as in anything else. God 
made it, and you can exalt Him by consecrating it to His 
glory. Do not be afraid of His gift. If ever His name is 
to be set before thine own heart and the hearts of others in 
all its loveliness, reason must enter the arena, and exert its 
powers. And this most sacred work, whether done in tfie 
Church or at home, is unquestionably indispensable to the 
perfection of devotion, and is as indispensable to its com- 
pleteness and grandeur as is the weeping homage of emotion. 

The higher worship, then, is as flame composed of light 
and heat, as beauty combining perfect form with perfect 


156 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


expression, and, in a word, may be briefly defined as intelli- 
gent thought of God winged by emotion to God. Where it 
is maintained in its greatest purity, there will be found the 
fairest homes, the sweetest manners, the holiest characters, 
the broadest sympathies, and the richest benefactions. While 
it is pleasing to God, it is certainly elevating to man. In 
return there comes to him a growing consciousness of his 
exalted origin and destin}^, a deepening conviction of human 
brotherhood, and an increasing experience of spiritual de- 
lights, such indeed as shame the poor ecstasies of our mad 
world’s revelry. The quaint, artistic Baptistery of Pisa is 
endowed with a most remarkable echo ; an echo that appears 
to be more than an echo. When the voice rises in humblest 
song, wafting even strident or imperfect notes, the sounds 
seem to have the power of converting the solid masonry into 
a many-piped organ, from whose melodious throat there 
issues in response a wealth of deep, sonorous, and impas- 
sioned harmony. We give a shout, and in return receive a 
dulcet jubilate ; we carol a solo, and receive a chorus ; we 
strike a lyre, and set an entire orchestra in motion ; we sing 
the long meter doxology, and are rewarded with a sublime 
and thrilling oratorio. What is this but an illustration of the 
wonderfully beneficent reaction of worship? In Christianity 
there is one excelling and extraordinaiy Being, its Founder. 
Through the alembic of His mind all our thoughts trans- 
muted ascend to the Father, and through the sweet-voiced 
instrument of His love all our praises pass, taking with them 
of the music of His own soul, into the presence chamber of 
the Almighty, where discord is never heard. And, oh ! mar- 
vel of grace, that which we have sent comes back to us, but 
not as it went, but as it was, when perfected and completed 
by the mediation of Jesus, accepted by the Father. We 
“bless the Lord” in exulting hallelujahs, and through Christ 
we receive blessedness in return : but our invocation is only a 
devout word ; the reciprocation is a most resplendent fact of 


THE GREAT ANTHEM. 


157 


joy and gladness. In return for our poor song He gives us 
peace ; for our weak, meagre thought He bestows more en- 
nobling thought ; for the paltry portion of worldly goods laid 
at His feet we are enriched with heavenly treasures, and for 
the surrender of ourselves He imparts Himself : more can 
He not give, and more, were there more, we could not wel- 
come. 

Glorious is worship — glorious as an experience, glorious 
as an institution — and glorious the privilege of speaking a 
word for it and of maintaining it in the earth. The privilege 
of speech has been mine in this sermon, and the privilege 
of upholding belongs to you who have heard as well as to 
myself. And as you turn aside from this study, let the 
many voices of praise that ascend to the throne of the High- 
est, whether emanating from nature or revelation, or from 
Christly sacrifice and saintly suffering, move you with all 
the melody of your soul to swell the everlasting anthem : — 

“ Glorious the northern lights astream ; 

Glorious the song when God’s the theme ; 

Glorious the thunder’s roar ; 

Glorious hosannah from the den ; 

Glorious the catholic amen ; 

Glorious the martyr’s gore. 

“ Glorious — more glorious is the crown 
Of Him that brought salvation down, 

By meekness called Thy Son ; 

Thou that stupendous truth believed, 

And now the matchless deed’s achieved. 

Determined, dared, and done.” 


THEOLOGY OF JESUS. 

The high priest then asked Jesus of His doctrine . — John xvUi, 19. 


OON after the wedding at Cana Jesus went down to 



Capernaum, and, leaving His mother there. He returned 
southward that He might be present during the celebra- 
tion of the Passover at Jerusalem. He must have found 
the streets of the holy city thronged with people from the 
provinces, who had come, like himself, to keep the feast, 
and who would naturally carry the tidings of anything He 
might say or do to all parts of the nation. The season, 
therefore, was opportune, and He improved it in such a 
way as to call the attention of rulers and citizens to His 
person and claims. He had displayed His power in Gali- 
lee; He now asserts His authority. This He does by ex- 
pelling from the approaches to the temple the sordid traders 
who, in their thirst for gain, had converted the sacred 
place into a mart, and who would doubtless have used the 
heart of the sanctuary as a chamber of commerce if it could 
have been made to pay. Jesus evidently realized that 
neither persuasions nor appeals addressed to the degraded 
religious natures of such men would avail; and He conse- 
quently adopted a more violent and radical method. With 
whip in hand. He suddenly burst in upon the traffickers, 
overthrew their tables, and chased the mercenary crew into 
the streets, exclaiming as he did so, “Make not my 
Father’s house a house of merchandise !” These extreme 
measures, coupled with His words, created a profound 
sensation, and led some among the Jews to inquire regard- 


THE FIRST SERMOK 


159 


ing His right to do such things, and the answer which He 
gave — ‘‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise 
it up ” — only deepened the impression, and, however inter- 
preted, implied an assumption of authority beyond anything 
then known in Israel. This uncompromising boldness, 
justified by some miracles which followed, induced “many 
to believe on His name,” and influenced Nicodemus, a 
prominent Pharisee, to seek from Him, under cover of 
night, a fuller account of His doctrine. In the obscurity 
of some modest room, or in some retired spot of the city, 
veiled from observation by the friendly darkness, the inter- 
view must have taken place ; and there, under these cir- 
cumstances, and with only a single listener, the greatest 
teacher that ever taught began His sublime work as 
preacher and prophet. 

It is related of Socrates that he imparted instruction in 
no settled place — in no settled academy or school; but 
wherever he could find a pupil, in the market, in the street, 
in the gymnasia, or the workshop, he unfolded the principles 
of his philosophy. Jesus followed the same plan. While 
He availed himself of opportunities to speak in the syna- 
gogues of His country He was always free to implant 
the seeds of truth in any soil and at any time. By Jacob’s 
well, by the sea-side, on the mountain, in the plain, beneath 
the roof of a Pharisee or at the fireside of a friend, in the 
presence of a single hearer or in that of a multitude, He 
gladly communicated the knowledge which was destined 
to fill the world with light. In this respect He is our 
example. We, too, should have a word in season for all 
occasions. Not merely from the pulpit should we formally 
discourse on sacred themes; but in the home, in the count- 
ing-room, and on the highway should we look for fitting 
moments when we can talk familiarly on these momentous 
subjects. Were we to do so, possibly we should see the 
same interest awakened — the same in kind, if not in de- 


160 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


gree — which attended both the public and private minis- 
trations of Christ. 

Wherever He spoke, the audience, small or great, was 
thrown into a ferment of excitement, and all sorts of peo- 
ple were strangely agitated. After His conversation with 
Nicodemus, He journeyed through Samaria on His way 
back to Galilee, and there, near the city of Sychar, He 
addressed first a woman and afterward a number of the citi- 
zens, with most marvelous results. Re-entering the abode 
of his youth, the much loved Nazareth, He preached to 
the people in the synagogue, applying Isaiah’s prophecy 
regarding the anointed one to himself, and while He 
stirred up serious opposition, all who heard Him bore wit- 
ness and “wondered at the gracious words which pro- 
ceeded out of His mouth.” Like amazement was expressed 
in Capernaum, whither He went after being expelled from 
Nazareth, and there the throngs who hung upon His lips 
were “astonished at His doctrine,” and confessed “its 
power;” “for He taught them as one that had authority, 
and not as the Scribes.” Indeed, throughout His entire 
career, the expression of His thoughts seems to be more 
potent than the exercise of His almightiness. Communi- 
ties are stirred by them; individuals are either maddened 
or enraptured by them; wisdom stands speechless before 
them, and ignorance opens its eyes at their sound. Mira- 
cles do not compare with them, either in the immediate- 
ness or the permanence of their effects. The Sermon on 
the Mount still makes a deeper and more enduring impres- 
sion than the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead, and 
the story of the Prodigal has been worth more to the 
world than the conversion of water into wine. The mira- 
cles of Christ seem to be less and less prized as the ages 
roll their weary round, and not unfrequently are unjustly 
denounced and depreciated, while his teachings seem to 
be more highly valued as the race advances in true knowl- 


CHRIST’S INTELLECTUAL SUPERIORITY. 161 

edge. The more we know, the more capable we are of 
appreciating their greatness and the more clearly we see 
that never within the same compass of words were ideas 
of equal grandeur and beauty proclaimed in the hearing 
of men. “Never man spake as this man.” Plato, called 
the “son of Apollo,” and Aristotle, termed the “master- 
mind of antiquity,” were wonderful thinkers, and their 
philosophies have exerted a prodigious influence on meta- 
physical and scientific inquiry. The ideas of the first 
appear in the transcendentalism of Kant, Fichte, Schell- 
ing, Hegel, and Emerson; and those of the second reveal 
themselves in the empiricism of Bacon, Comte, Mill and 
Spencer. Around them distinctive and magnificent liter- 
atures have grown, and to their exposition various learned 
schools have been devoted. “But the glory of the terres- 
trial is one, and the glory of the celestial is another.” 
The intellectual throne of Christ towers above theirs. He 
who never sat in the shadow of the Porch, nor trod the 
groves of the Academy, has done more for thought and 
has been felt more deeply in thought than either of the 
names which have been mentioned, whom scholarly cir- 
cles delight to honor. He has modified old philosophies 
and founded new ones; He has stimulated and directed 
investigations; He has imparted ideals to art and senti- 
ment to poetry; he has allied reason and intelligence with 
religion; and, in a word. He has, from the days when He 
first taught in Nazareth of Galilee to the present, subdued 
ignorance, overcome mental torpor, and roused the spirit 
of research. 

Considering the weight that his teachings had with all 
classes of people in Palestine, it is not surprising when 
Jesus stands as a prisoner before the high priest that that 
official should interrogate Him regarding his doctrines; 
and, in view of their subsequent prominence in the history 
of inquiry, it is not unnatural that we also should desire 


162 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


to know something of their character. This desire has 
been felt in all times and by the most distinguished men; 
and it is cause for congratulation that means have been 
provided to satisfy its earnest questionings. Our Savior, 
like Socrates, wrote no books; but as we have in the 
writings of Plato reliable accounts of what that philoso- 
pher advocated, so we have in the New Testament 
authentic reports of our Lord’s sayings and discourses. 
From this source, therefore, we can derive the informa- 
tion we seek. If we appeal to this witness, we shall be 
able to form a tolerably accurate conception of what He 
taught; and, as it is related to God and to the complex 
problems of religion, from the outset it may be regarded 
as His theology. 

Now, it is to be observed in the first place that Christ’s 
theology is not systematic. That is, He never undertook — 
what has been attempted with some success by his follow- 
ers — to classify the truths He preached and to arrange 
them logically in their proper order. He gave us the 
flowers, but no botany; the stars, but no astronomy; the 
ocean, but no navigation. No amount of research will 
bring to light in the Gospels anything corresponding to 
the Institutes of Calvin or the Lectures of Leonard Wood. 
He does not begin with the idea of God, and then proceed 
to consider the fall and redemption of man; much less 
does He begin, as some have supposed, with simple ethical 
duties, and gradually rise to the mysteries of grace. As 
we have seen, his first recorded address proclaims the 
nature and necessity of regeneration and the love of God 
in giving His Son for man’s redemption. These doctrines 
are fundamental to the Christian scheme, and yet He 
brings them to the attention of Nicodemus at once; and 
He speaks to the woman of Samaria about the “ water of 
life” even before He delivers His sermon on the mount. 
Christ was no system-builder, though I mean by the re- 


THE preacher’s MODEL. 


163 


mark no disparagement of those who are. There is doubt- 
less a place for systematic theology in religious culture, 
but He, at least, did not see fit to engage in its construc- 
tion. The formal propositions, the array of evidence, the 
answers to objections, and the painful endeavors to har- 
monize discordant conceptions such as Divine sovereignty 
and human responsibility, which are too vast and bulky 
for mortal strength to handle, that enter largely into every 
theological treatise, were evidently not to His mind, and 
were very likely avoided as tending to impart to religion 
a dubious character, requiring subtleties of logic and 
tricks of rhetoric for its vindication. He preferred to 
speak freely, as the necessities of the hour demanded, 
with a view to the immediate end to be achieved and with- 
out regard to the exigencies of a system. In this respect, 
as in all others. He is the preacher’s model, whose highest 
aim should be to adapt Christ’s various teachings to the 
needs of his hearers, and not attempt a ponderous and 
regular course in divinity. That duty pertains to the Pro- 
fessor’s chair more than to the pulpit, and from its faithful 
discharge students for the ministry unquestionably derive 
much advantage, in this respect, at least, if in no other, 
that they learn how difficult it is for speculative Davids 
to put together and wear the armor of the Almighty. The 
preacher preeminently is a sermon-maker, and to make a 
sermon is to fashion out of a text a garment that will fit 
the hearer; and the need for the sermon is, that every 
text is, like the giant’s sleeve described by Lessing, ample 
enough to clothe a dwarf, but which, to be of real service 
to him, must be transformed from a sleeve into a coat. 

Another peculiarity of Christ’s theology is its trans- 
parency. It is said that Plato did not speak openly to 
all who sought instruction; that his doctrines were to the 
many esoteric, to be imparted only to the initiated, and that 
even to these favored few his meaning was not always 


164 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


clear. Hegel is credited with the remark when alluding 
to his own writings: “Only one man ever understood me, 
and he did not understand me.” And, to some extent, the 
same is true of the proud Athenian who wrote over his 
door: “Let no one enter who is unacquainted with geom- 
etry”; and possibly no one could enter in the sense of 
comprehending what was taught within. The Savior did 
not imitate the philosopher. There is no tortuosity of eva- 
sion in His speech, no kaleidoscopic changeableness in His 
language. He never intimates that any of His teachings 
have a double sense — one for the ignorant, another for 
the informed. Voltaire is credited with the saying: “ Phi- 
losophy was never made for the people; the canaille of 
to-day resembles in everything the canaille of the last four 
thousand years. We have never cared to enlighten cob- 
blers and maid-servants. That is the work of apostles,” 
So much the worse for philosophy. But what the apostles 
did, Jesus did before them. What He taught He spoke 
for all; and it is a sign of His infinite wisdom that, while 
His ideas are worthy the attention of the profoundest 
thinkers, they can be understood by the most illiterate. A 
little child can be interested in His words, and can in 
some degree penetrate their meaning. That many of them 
declare mysteries is undeniable, but that which can be 
known of the mystery He does not express in obscure terms 
which only darken darkness. He candidly tells His disci- 
ples that there are truths which they cannot receive until 
after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, but He does not 
restrict the promised revelation to a select and highly-cul- 
tivated few. Like the air, the light, the rain, and all the 
grandest manifestations of God in nature. His thoughts are 
the property of the many — of every human being, and 
every human being is encouraged to assert his right to 
the precious heritage. I am well aware that I am not 
voicing the ordinary and prevailing opinion on this sub- 


OBSCURING TRUTH. 


165 


ject outside of the church. Generally, it is supposed that 
Christ’s doctrines are anything but clear, and that their 
indefiniteness is the principal cause of the controversies 
and sects which divide the Christian world. This, I am 
persuaded, is an unfair inference. The cause of the dis- 
sensions does not lie in the original teaching of the Master, 
but in the explanation of the disciples. They have under- 
taken, by commentaries, notes, and expositions, to render 
transparent what was never opaque, and the result is that 
in a large number of cases they have veiled the stars and 
eclipsed the sun. A peasant once said that he understood 
at a single reading the text of Bunyan’s “ Pilgrim’s Pro- 
gress,” and hoped, in the course of time, and with due 
application, to comprehend the explanatory notes of Dr. 
Scott. And many an earnest inquirer has been more per- 
plexed by annotations on Scripture texts than by the texts 
themselves. I am also convinced that our systems of the- 
ology are measurably accountable for the divisions of 
Christendom. They frequently degenerate into an attempt 
to square the utterances of .Jesus to the philosophy of 
Plato, or to the demands of some other metaphysical 
writer, and thus different speculative schools, claiming 
.Jesus as an ally, involve Him in their rivalries, and make 
the impression on many minds that He is responsible for 
their discord. Theology sometimes is so involved, com- 
plicated, abstruse and vague, and so determined on the 
solution of problems which are unsolvable, that it con- 
fuses the intellect it would instruct, and alienates the 
heart it would reconcile. Were it less pretentious, and 
less philosophical, it would accomplish more good, and at 
least it would not foster the suspicion that Jesus is unin- 
telligible to the common reader. When I turn from the 
turbid opacity of some ponderous divine to the simplicity 
of the Gospel, I cannot but think of what Cicero says of 
Caesar’s commentaries. Referring to the fact that these 
10 


166 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


records of his Gallic and British campaigns were merely 
designed by their author as memoranda to be used by 
regular historians, Cicero adds that their merit is such that 
discerning and judicious writers shrink from attempts to 
alter and amplify them. Possibly it might have been as 
well if similar discretion had been shown in dealing with 
the Gospel, and if similar respect had been paid to its 
manifest clearness. 

It is also, I think, worthy of special notice that Christ’s 
theology is far from being exclusive. Of late it has been 
pointed out, and that, too, in no very friendly spirit, that 
some of the radical ideas and some of the very phrases 
which are met with in the record of our Lord’s ministry 
are contained in the writings of Buddhists, Brahmans, 
Greek and Roman philosophers, and Jewish Talmudists. 
It has, in consequence, been assumed that He, like other 
teachers, derived His wisdom from those who preceded 
Him, and only repeated what had been spoken before. 
Christians who are familiar with this subject know that there 
are such similarities, at times almost amounting to parallel- 
isms, and yet they fail to see in this fact anything detri- 
mental to His originality. Admitting that he was like 
Socrates, not only in His method of instruction, but in 
some few of the ethical ideas He inculcated; supposing 
that the human tendencies of Greek philosophy were in- 
corporated into the very life of the Gospel; and conceding 
that He echoed moral sentiments which had found expres- 
sion at the lips of Hindu and Hellenic sages, does it 
thence follow that He had nothing better, nothing higher, 
nothing newer to proclaim? Did He not impart to the 
world clearer conceptions of Divine Fatherhood ? Did He 
not reveal the way of salvation ? Did He not invest the 
hope of immortality with a fresh charm, and rest it upon 
surer foundations? And did He not carry out and perfect, 
round and complete, the partial truths which had been 


CATHOLICITY OF TRUTH. 


167 


anticipated by others? It is as absurd to question His 
originality on account of resemblance between a few of 
His ideas and those held in common by others, as it would 
be to suppose that Paul on Mars’ Hill, in sight of the 
prison where Socrates comforted his disciples by discours- 
ing on immortality, copied that great master, because his 
thoughts happened to run in distinctively religious channels. 

The fact is, that Jesus recognized truth wherever taught, 
and was not so blind as to suppose that God had permitted 
four thousand years of history to pass without studding 
the dark firmament with some stars of light. Wherever 
the light dawned, though it was but as the break of day 
that heralds the sun, and though it could not color the 
flowers, or warm the earth, or do the work the sun does. 
He hailed it, and embraced it. He was not exclusive, 
narrow-minded, or prejudiced; neither was He more anxious 
to startle the world by novelties than to satisfy it by truth. 
Modern theology should borrow His spirit; preachers 
everywhere should cultivate it. Whatever is proven by 
science, whatever is discovered by investigation, should be 
gladly welcomed; and whatever is good, pure, and true, 
sanctioned by Pagan wisdom, should be appropriated; for 
it will be found that everything new and old, which accords 
with the reality of things, has a place in the Christian 
system, and is in harmony with its teachings. Neither 
should theologians hesitate to acknowledge their indebted- 
ness to all sources, when all departments of knowledge 
are more indebted to Christ than His servants can be to 
them. De Quincey reproves Dr. Johnson for saying that, 
‘‘ to Homer, as its original author, may be traced back, at 
least in outline, every tale or every complication of inci- 
dent now moving in modern poems, romances, or novels.” 
This, as De Quincey thinks, is an extreme statement; but 
it is no exaggeration to say that, to Christ, as its source 
and inspiration, the world owes its present high position 


168 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


in science and literature; and that, therefore, whatever 
benefit they in turn may have conferred, or may yet confer, 
on His cause, may, without prejudice to its greatness, be 
gladly and heartily recognized. 

But, to come closer to the soul of my subject, the the- 
ology of Jesus is supernatural in its origin, evangelical in 
its character, and practical in its spirit. On the first point, 
nothing more is necessary than our Lord’s testimony: 
“ The words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself 
“for I have not spoken of Myself, but the Father which 
sent Me; He gave Me a commandment what I should say 
and what I should speak.” That is. He claims to be gov- 
erned in His preaching either by the fullness of the God- 
head in Him or by the Divine wisdom influencing Him: 
and, on either supposition. His theology is not what is 
known as “natural,” but is supernatural; is not the 
achievement of unaided reason, but the result of a 
Heavenly revelation. The other, points demand ampler 
notice. Jesus undoubtedly was an ethical teacher; but 
themes other than pure morals, though related to them, 
engaged His attention. He made known the character of 
the Father, represented His providence as extending over 
the works of His hands as general in its scope and par- 
ticular in its care; and He spoke of Himself as the 
Father’s gift to the world, and as the brightest expression 
of His love. The Father, according to His conception, is 
a Being to be venerated, a Spirit to be worshiped in 
spirit and in truth. His view of man is singularly sad and 
solemn. While He referred to him continually as a crea- 
ture in rank sufficiently exalted to entemple the Father 
and Himself in his soul {John xiv, 23), He described 
him also as degraded, lost, as the wayward sheep on the 
barren mountains, as the wretched prodigal starving in the 
midst of plenty, and self-exiled from the paternal home. 

Tt is just here that Jesus makes Himself central to His 


CHRIST IN THEOLOGY. 


169 


theology. He makes Himself the essence and substance, 
the foundation and superstructure, the source and the 
stream, the root and the flower, of the religion which He 
came to unfold and establish. Michelet recognized this 
peculiarity, while he criticised what it involves, and dis- 
dained what it implies. In his Bible of Humanity he 
writes: “But what to love? What to believe? About 
that there was no precise formula. To love the teacher, 
and to believe on the teacher. To take His very person, a 
living creed, for a symbol and a creed. This is the very 
accurate meaning of all that St. Paul has written, and 
which has been marvelously well stated in this sentence, 
‘Jesus taught nothing but Himself.’” The sentence 
quoted is from Renan; and it is singular that these bril- 
liant French infidels should so clearly discern what so 
many sectaries have frequently overlooked, namely, that 
Christianity is in reality merged in its Author, is the 
shadow of His presence, and the aureole of His glory. In 
harmony with this view, Jesus assumes that no man can 
come to the Father but through Him; that whosoever 
belie veth on Him hath everlasting life; and that without 
Him no man can do anything. He claims to be not only 
the light of the world, but its life, and carries the latter 
thought so far as to say, “ Except ye eat the flesh of the 
Son of Man and drink His blood ye have no life in you. 
Whoso eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood hath eter- 
nal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. As the 
living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father, so 
he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me” {John vi^ 
26-Ji.O). The same great doctrine is alluded to in those 
passages where He speaks of laying down His life for the 
sheep, and where, in the institution of the Supper, He 
exclaims, “This cup is the New Testament in My blood 
which is shed for you” — “for the remission of sin.” In 
no stronger terms than these could the fundamental dogma 


170 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


of the evangelical faith be affirmed. As that faith sets 
forth, so He evidently held Himself to be Mediator, Priest 
and Atonement; the Being through whom redemption is 
wrought, and by whom spiritual justification and final 
glory comes to the race. Thus the apostles understood 
Him, and hence they constantly present Him as the life 
and soul of the religion which is called by His name. 
They speak of Him as the “Author and Finisher of the 
Faith,” as the “Head over all things to the Church,” and 
as the Being in whom all things are “to be gathered 
together, both which are in heaven, and which are on the 
earth.” They declare that “the Church is His body, the 
fullness of Him that filleth all in all,” “in whom,” to 
change the figure, “all the building, fitly framed together, 
groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord.” He dwells in 
His disciples, and they are “complete in Him.” They 
“grow up into Him in all things,” and they “learn Him” 
as well as of Him, and they are “ His members,” as it 
were “bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh.” Paul 
exclaims, “But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God 
is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctifica- 
tion, and redemption”; and John writes, “In Him was 
life, and the life was the light of men.” Conversion is an 
ingrafting into Christ; Baptism is the putting on of 
Christ; the Supper is the appropriation of Christ’s flesh 
and blood; and Perfection is “the measure of the stature 
of the fullness of Christ.” Thus the immediate followers 
of our Lord regarded Him as the totality, the wholeness, 
the entirety of the truth He came to proclaim, and of the 
system He came to inaugurate. Hence Luthardt says, 
“He makes Himself the central point of His every 
announcement. ‘It is I’ is the great text of all His 
teaching. ‘If ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in 
your sins,’ is, in fact, a saying in which His whole doctrine 
may be summed up.” 


PERSONAL RELIGION. 


171 


While in this respect His theology is widely separated 
from the philosophies and creeds of other religions, it is 
likewise preeminently practical. Indeed, there is little 
that is speculative about it, for it does not enter into the 
bewildering mazes of the questions it propounds and the 
doctrines it declares. These are always directly related to 
the moral quickening and moral guidance of the people, 
and they are apparently only so far discussed as will pro- 
mote these objects. He keeps before the world a magnifi- 
cent ideal of what humanity should be, and the doctrines 
of grace are simple revelations of the forces that are 
available for its actualization. Matthew Arnold says, 
“Religion is morality touched by emotion”; but he does 
not tell us what is to touch the emotions. Christ assigns 
that task to the reality of God’s love, and to the power 
of His own self-sacrifice. And as the means are stupen- 
dously great, so the ideal is resplendently glorious. It 
surpasses in ethical purity and beauty every other concep- 
tion of personal goodness and rectitude. Plato’s morals, 
though commending prudence, temperance, fortitude, and 
justice, are infinitely at fault when dealing with marriage, 
and ignore those passive virtues which distinguish the 
Sermon on the Mount. The system of laws given by Solon 
he himself admitted could be improved, but claimed that 
it was adapted to the people. That is, he did not seek 
to bring them up to a standard higher than themselves; 
just as Plato acknowledged that the object of his Republic 
was not to lift the human creature up from degradation, 
but to assist him to find his proper level, and to settle him 
in the place for which his natural qualities fitted him, so 
Solon accommodated himself to man, and only attempted 
to regulate his baseness. Jesus differs in aim and method 
from them all. He sets before man the perfection which 
it is possible to reach, thus stimulating his noblest ambi- 
tion, and reveals the means by which it is to be achieved; 


172 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


and thus moves him onward and upward to the goal where 
the fadeless crown of righteousness rewards the victor. 

As we should imitate Jesus in all things, our theology, 
like His, should be practical. I fear we are altogether 
too speculative. Much of our preaching seems very much 
like an aimless excursion to dream-land. We go we know 
not where, and apparently we know not why. The old 
dogmatic tone has almost entirely ceased, and instead we 
hear “maybes,” and “probabilities” and “hypotheses.” 
Much talk is frequent on the philosophy of religion, and 
not a little about new theology, and the impression is be- 
ing made that ministers have a very small amount indeed 
of positive and definite truth to communicate. Never be- 
fore were words so lavishly multiplied with so little knowl- 
edge, and never was knowledge so darkened by words as 
at present. When sifted and carefully examined, the opin- 
ions now set forth as novelties, and as improvements on the 
accepted faith, are merely antique heresies revived, theo- 
ries held in ages past which have been resuscitated and 
reclothed. Progress in this field there has been none; 
there has only been a revolution of the wheel of thought, 
which has once more brought discarded views of Scripture 
to the top. The so-called advanced thought is not that of 
an engine’s wheel, which carries it forward, but that of the 
windmill, which turns without advancing. Better would 
it be for the world if its religious teachers would pay more 
attention to the application of theology than to its im- 
provement. What is needed is more Baconianism in our 
pulpits. The father of modern science broke with the 
ancients, not merely in method, but in aim. He taught, 
what they would have regarded with contempt, that knowl- 
edge should be rendered practical. Hence he inaugurated 
an age of utilitarianism in which discovery is valued by its 
beneficial effect upon the people. So should we measure 
the worth of sermons. They ought to touch the life, to 


THE FIE'AL WORD. 


173 


refine, elevate and save. In this direction there is ample 
room for genius, originality, and for all gifts and graces 
that may be consecrated to God’s service. And when 
students of theology shall more fully realize this, and shall 
seek to make theology available to man’s varying necessi- 
ties, then shall it come to be honored as it deserves. 

The world’s greatest teacher has passed into the Heav- 
ens, but His words abide, and abide they shall forever. 
Inestimable was the privilege of hearing Him. This, how- 
ever, was granted to a few comparatively. But His voice 
has sounded sweetly through the ages, and never can be 
silenced. To day it rises above the noise of stormy debate 
and tenderly repeats its messages of grace and love. 
These messages are your inheritance. Ah! how you 
should thank God for the opportunity you enjoy of know- 
ing His mind on the most momentous of all themes ! 
Christ said to His disciples: “Many prophets and kings 
desired to hear those things which ye hear, and have not 
heard them.” And well they might, for they are the 
hinge on which turns the destiny of the soul. You also 
hear them, then prize them. “ Take fast hold of instruc- 
tion; let her not go; keep her, for she is thy life. She shall 
give to thine head an ornament of grace, a crown of glory 
shall she deliver to thee.” Especially cleave to her; 
for, if despised, her ministry to thee hath an end. Recall 
the Lord’s final visit to Nazareth, and be warned. Once 
rejected. He went again, anxious to bless; but the people 
received Him not. Sadly He turned away forever from 
the home of His youth, as He will turn from thee if thou 
shalt continue obdurate, and His voice never more be 
heard in thy habitations. Never more ? Did I say never 
more ? No, He will not be eternally dumb. Again he 
shall speak, exclaiming: “Depart, ye workers of iniquity, 
I never knew ye.” And then He will leave thee to silence 
unbroken, and it may be to silence endless. 


XII. 


THE PAKABLES OF JESUS. 

All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables, and 
without a parable spake he not unto them . — Matthew xiiiy 34. 

P ANTOMIME came before language, hieroglyphics 
before letters, pictures before books, and the drama 
before philosophy. Expressive gesture, poetic imagery, 
figures of speech growing into personification, fable and 
allegory, not only preceded literal discourse and abstract 
reasoning, but have always surpassed them as vehicles of 
instruction. When the senses are appealed to, when the 
imagination is enlisted, when the emotions are stirred, the 
impression is more instantaneous, vivid, and enduring than 
can possibly be created by means distinctively recondite 
and abstruse. 

The drama is narrative in action. It is that form of 
composition that represents the personages of the story 
as living and doing, that reveals their thoughts in words, 
and their characters in deeds. It occupies a prominent 
position in the literature of all cultivated nations, and 
seems to have been originally designed, not exclusively for 
amusement, but to produce immediate social, religious, or 
political results. This assumption is abundantly sustained 
alike by the tragedies of ^schylus, Sophocles, Euripides, 
and the comedies of Aristophanes and Menander. In the 
former we find repeated political allusions; endeavors to 
restrain advancing radicalism as in jEschylus; and efforts 
to foster freedom, as in Sophocles; and in the latter pic- 
tures of the foibles, manners, passions of the times, as in 

174 


ORIGIN OF THE DRAMA. 


175 


Aristophanes. It should likewise be borne in mind as 
confirming the view suggested that the drama in the ear- 
lier stages of its history was intimately associated with 
the great festivals held in honor of the gods. Among the 
Hindus its origin is ascribed to an inspired sage, Bharata, 
and it deals with incidents in the marvelous career of 
Vishnu, and at the beginning was dedicated to the glory 
of Indra. In Greece also it was closely allied to the 
national religion. The people of that country celebrated 
the worship of Dionysius, received from the Phoenicians, 
by the performance of comical and tragical plays. This 
pleasurable service was paid for out of the public treas- 
ury, was governed by, public officials, and was counte- 
nanced by the wisest citizens of the Commonwealth — 
facts which not only lent dignity to these performances, 
but which now go to show that they were regarded as 
eminently practical in their effects. A similar inference is 
warranted by what is known of the rise and progress of 
the drama in England. It first appeared there under the 
name of Mysteries, then as Moralities, and afterward as 
Interludes. The Mysteries were exhibitions, more or less 
complete, of leading events in the ministry of Christ; the 
Moralities were representations of an ethical character, 
while the Interludes were decidedly humorous and farci- 
cal. These various entertainments were under the pat- 
ronage of the Church, were given at times in religious 
houses, and were highly esteemed by pious and devoted 
people. Ultimately, however, the drama divorced itself, 
or was divorced, from the Church, and the modern theater 
came into existence. Since then it has been thoroughly 
secularized, and its repeated degradation has given rise 
to many vexed questions concerning its influence; but its 
early alliance with sacred institutions indicates that, in the 
judgment of antiquity, it was neither necessarily profane 
nor pernicious, but was fitted to awaken religious emotion, 


176 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


kindle holy enthusiasm, and reveal to the poorest under- 
standing the deepest and most gracious of truths. 

This undeniable adaptation of dramatic composition to 
the purest and noblest interests of humanity explains why 
it is found to a considerable extent in the inspired Scrip- 
tures. That it is there, and there in abundance, all com- 
petent critics allow. Of course, their pages will be searched 
in vain for anything corresponding to a regular play. But, 
while there are no portions of the sacred writings that can 
be regarded as dramas in the strict sense of the term, there 
are several, indeed many, passages which are essentially 
dramatic in form; narratives, for instance, where the action, 
as in the Book of Job, passes before the eye of the reader, 
and revelations, where the events and the personages 
connected with them, as in the giving of the Decalogue, 
are so vividly described as to seem like present realities. 
Our meaning is illustrated by the Homeric poems, where, 
without attempting to imitate the play in structure, the 
plot is unfolded and carried out by heroes who breathe and 
move, and perform their mighty deeds as on the mimic 
stage. The “ Masque of Comus ” and the “ Samson Agonis- 
tes ” of Milton are more perfectly modeled on the pattern 
of ancient tragedy, than the epic of Homer, but in many 
of their characteristics they are not far removed from what 
we discover in the Old Testament. They differ in several 
respects from the tragedies of Shakspeare, and from the 
Faust of Goethe, and ought rather to be classed with dra- 
matical poems than with dramas. From these sources, 
therefore, may be gathered an adequate idea of what is 
termed the dramatic element in the Bible. 

A sublime instance of what is meant, Moses furnishes in 
the first chapter of Genesis. There we have an account of 
creation, not given scientifically or phHosophically, but 
dramatically. The description is neither Hegelian nor 
Darwinian, but Miltonian. Jehovah is there represented 


DRAMA OF CREATIOlSr. 


177 


as doing. He is the infinite actor — using that term in its 
original and unobjectionable sense — the emptiness of 
space is His theater; angelic orders, “the sons of God that 
shouted for joy” — are the spectators. The curtain rises 
and falls six times, each time on a different scene, but all 
converging in one grand consummation — the creation of 
man. Then begins a seventh act, whose course is marked 
by sin and sorrow, blood and battle, despair and death, and 
on which the curtain of eternity shall fall at last amidst 
the rejoicing of a universe redeemed. Other and less 
magnificent, though hardly less striking, examples of this 
principle are furnished in the annals of Israel. How full 
of startling situations, thrilling movements, absorbing and 
exciting plots and counterplots, remarkable deliverances 
and tragical episodes is the career of the Lawgiver, and how 
pathetic and picturesque its close. The history of Joseph 
is also thoroughly dramatic. We behold him in the sim- 
plicity of youth, exciting the enmity of his brothers by 
unskillful babblings; we behold him betrayed by their hate 
into the hands of the slave-dealers, and unsuccessfully 
tempted and unjustly imprisoned in the land of captivity; 
and we behold him steadily rising by the force of native 
integrity to dominion and power, and, having rescued his 
unnatural relatives from the peril of famine, we see him 
gently and quietly falling to sleep, honored by all and 
favored by God. As we read the story of this life it is, as it 
were, reenacted before us, and we derive from it stimulus 
to manly uprightness, which the colorless abstractions of 
ethical philosophy could never impart. Another illustra- 
tion we have in the deeds of Elijah. Suddenly he bursts 
from the mountains of Gilead on a profligate scene, like 
the tempest that sweeps from the hills on the plains, and, 
like the tempest, he prostrates before him the rotten and 
weak. Alone he suddenly confronts a base king in his 
pride, answers his frown by a marvel of power, shuts up 


178 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


the womb of the rain and scorches the earth, and scatters 
in fear the foes of Jehovah. Alone he encounters the 
prophets of Baal, bids them call on their god, who, if he 
exist, will answer by fire, while he in his turn, will lift up 
his solitary cry to the Being he serves, and who, he be- 
lieves, will not be deaf to his humble petition. No trans- 
action on record can be more dramatical than this, and 
none that we know of produced such momentous results. 
The fire descends. Jehovah is vindicated; the people con- 
vinced. And at the end of his work, when other labors 
were done, he who appeared so unexpectedly among men 
on the earth, is as abruptly translated to the fellowship of 
angels in Heaven. Such examples as these could in- 
definitely be multiplied, and we might easily point out mag- 
nificent personifications in which Nature seems gifted with 
thought and emotion, and anxious through the mighty 
circle of her works and with all her voices to magnify God; 
and we might dwell on that liturgy which demanded a 
priesthood gorgeously robed, and sacrifices offered with 
sacred solemnity, and which was but a shadow of good 
things to come, a rule for representations, as on a stage, of 
mysteries divine. But what we have said must suffice, 
and, if allied to that at which we have only ventured to 
glance, will more than suffice to illustrate in what sense 
the Scriptures are dramatical, and may serve to account 
for the prominence of this element in the preachiner of 
Christ. 

Familiar as He was with the Holy Oracles which had 
been committed by Providence to His fathers, it would 
have been singular if His manner of teaching had failed 
to be colored by their style. Such was not the case. It 
is said in the text that He spoke to the multitudes in para- 
bles, and that at that time He spoke in no other way. 
The parable is an amplified simile — an extended compari- 
son. From the fable it differs in this, that it never intro- 


ABRIDGED DRAMAS. 


179 


duces brute or inanimate creatures as gifted with human 
feelings and attributes, or sets them forth as reasoning, 
acting and talking like men. Its figures move in harmony 
with the laws of their being, and its action is likewise con- 
sistently faithful to Nature, whatever its scope or its aim. 
Sometimes, by the conduct of persons in one sphere, 
truths that lie in another and higher are evolved and 
made clear, as in the toil of the Sower and the love of the 
Shepherd; and sometimes by the courses of men simply 
the wisdom to be desired and the folly to be dreaded, the 
meekness to be fostered and the pride to be abased are 
vividly pictured, as in the career of Dives, the millionaire, 
and in the prayer of the publican. The parables, there- 
fore, may be divided into two general classes — the first 
symbolical, the second mimetical; the one illuminative, 
the other imitative; the one relating mainly to doctrine, 
the other particularly to practice; but both are dramatic 
in form, and may be regarded as dramas in miniature — 
as dramas abridged and condensed. 

Take the Prodigal’s story as a specimen of this last 
characteristic. The Savior discloses to view a prosperous 
Jewish household, where the father is kind and the sons are 
indulged. In early manhood the younger grows weary of 
home, and desires to try the great world, to encounter its 
perils, to taste of its pleasures. Heedless of the pain he 
inflicts, he bids adieu to the scenes of his childhood and, 
fortune in hand, wanders in distant lands, and mingles 
with peoples alien and strange. Unshielded by domestic 
influences, unrestrained by the presence of friends, he 
falls a prey to his own wild fancies and passions, and 
squanders his substance in riotous living. We see him 
heated with wine, carousing with spendthrifts, feasting 
with harlots, and wasting his strength and disgracing 
his name. But the day of retribution comes. A famine 
sweeps over the country. The storm fiercely breaks loose, 


180 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


and every ship has to take care of itself. The Prodigal 
finds himself without the means needful to make the shore. 
No one will help him. He is abandoned and desolate, and 
in the depth of his want he who was the companion of 
the rich and the gay becomes the keeper of swine. How 
startling the contrast! A little while before he was 
clothed with silken bravery, but now he has scarcely rags 
enough to cover his emaciated form; and not long since he 
was housed in a palace, flattered by parasites, and ban- 
queted on delicate viands, but now he is abiding with 
pigs, ministering to pigs and eating their food. To such 
foul and degrading consequences do our pleasant vices 
lead ! But there is hope for the Prodigal. He comes to 
himself. Memory restores the image of home, while con- 
science regaining her throne, leads to reform, and both, 
kindling anew the dying embers of hope, awaken right- 
eous resolve. He returns to his father. Hungry, naked, 
foot-sore, self-condemned and abased, he approaches the 
home of his youth, and then, when the suspense has be- 
come unendurable, he feels loving arms around him, warm 
kisses of love on his cheek, and, looking up, beholds the 
dear, familiar face of his sire. All is forgotten, all for- 
given; the festival music gladdens all hearts, and though 
the discord of a brother’s selfish complaint jars the ear for 
a moment, we instinctively think, as the Master Teacher 
designed us to think, that, if an earthly parent can re- 
ceive the penitent Prodigal, surely the Heavenly Father 
will also receive the repentant transgressor. Now I hold 
that this parable is essentially dramatic. It could easily 
be separated into acts and scenes; it possesses the unity of 
plan from which nothing can be taken, and to which noth- 
ing can be added without mutilating the whole; and it 
instructs by example, and that with so much pathos and 
power that we are held captive by its charm, and borne 
irresistibly onward to the moral it inculcates. As much, 


THE PARABLES. 


181 


and even more, may be said of that wonderful word- 
painting in which the conditions of the haughty rich and 
the worthy poor are contrasted. Dives and Lazarus are 
men differing widely in earthly estate, and differing yet 
further in their relative destinies. From the inequalities 
of time we are carried to the righteous awards of eternity; 
and there a scene is unfolded to sight which may fitly 
have served grave Dante, the poet, as awful outlines for 
his visions of Hell. It lies before us in gigantic sublimity, 
and its solemn sorrow sweeps over our soul with all the 
annihilating, overpowering influence of unmitigated aus- 
terity. We are horrified at the doom; we tremble before 
the inflexible justice that decrees it; we realize our peril, 
and hasten to Him in whose grace a refuge is found, and 
whose blood not only quenches the penal fires, but 
washes us clean from the moral defilement that excludes 
us from Heaven. Here is a tragedy, condensed it is true, 
but the brevity adds to its force; and a tragedy that stirs 
the emotions, purifies thought, and awakens lofty desire. 

There are other parables, such as “The Priceless Pearl,” 
“The Two Debtors,” “The Merciless Servant,” “The 
Good Samaritan,” “The Rich Fool,” “The Unjust Stew- 
ard,” “The Marriage Feast,” “The Virgins,” and many 
more, of which I cannot now speak in particular, but the 
number of which indicates how largely our Lord relied on 
the dramatic element in dealing with men, while their 
range and their treatment reveal His fathomless knowl- 
edge of all that pertains to humanity. Schlegel reminds 
his readers that “ G5ethe has ingeniously compared 
Shakspeare’s characters to watches with crystalline plates 
and cases, which, while they point out the hours as cor- 
rectly as other watches, enable us at the same time to per- 
ceive the inward springs whereby all this is accomplished.” 
And Lessing, referring to the same great writer, has said: 
“He gives a lively picture of all the most minute and 
11 


182 


JESUS THE WORLD S SAVIOR. 


secret artifices by which a feeling steals into our souls; of 
all the imperceptible advantages which it there gains; of 
all the stratagems by which every other passion is made 
subservient to it, till it becomes the sole tyrant of our 
desires and our aversions.” With even more propriety 
may these representations be applied to our Lord. His 
parables lay bare the soul, strip it of its complicated dis- 
guises, and reveal it to itself as it is in all ages, and under 
all circumstances. The characters they portray are trans- 
parent, the heart that beats behind their movements is 
disclosed, and there is nothing hidden that is not brought 
to light. They hold “ the mirror up to nature,” and in it 
we see ourselves, and, seeing there our image, we follow 
with unabated interest every detail, that we may under- 
stand our duty and apprehend our destiny. 

This, however, is not all. The dramatic features of our 
Lord’s preaching end not here. There is another kind of 
parable, which thus far we have not noticed, and which, 
for the sake of clearness, I shall define “the parable of 
manner.” The look, the attitude, the gesture, the tone of 
voice, and even the peculiar grouping of words are related 
to a man’s thought, or should be, as the language-parable 
is to the idea it conveys. Dean Trench claims that the 
incarnation, “inasmuch as it was a making intelligible of 
the otherwise unintelligible, a making visible the invisi- 
ble,” was “the highest and most glorious of all parables;” 
and similarly, as the outward manner of our Lord expresses 
His innermost life, and, being sensuous, enables us to 
perceive more clearly the supersensuous, it may justly be 
regarded in the same light. It manifests, pictures to the 
eye what is passing within, and interprets to the mind the 
deep significance of the spoken discourse. The value of 
manner can hardly be estimated. Sometimes the glance 
of the eye, or the sweep of the arm, or the turn of the 
head, or the emphasis of a word, or the modulation of 


EXPRESSION- IN TEACHING. 


183 


voice will add force to a sentence, will often rescue it from 
obscurity, and bring out its latent beauties as by magical 
power. This parable of manner is necessarily dramatic, 
just as the parable of language is, because it is teaching 
by action, meaning by action what the Roman orator did 
when he identified it with eloquence — namely, expression: 
it is rightly called dramatic, because it appeals to the 
senses, dresses thought in garments appropriate, and mar- 
shals ideas, not like an army of intangible phantoms, but 
like a host, living and breathing, and ready for war. 

Among the masters of this art may be mentioned such 
speakers as Demosthenes, Chrysostom, and Beecher; but 
Jesus of N azareth excelled them all. When He taught, voice, 
bearing, gesture, all combined to lend grace, dignity 
and force to His words. When He addressed God, the up- 
lifted eyes added impressiveness to His prayer; and when 
He delivered the sermon, known to us as the Sermon on 
the Mount, according to Luke’s account, the same motion 
of His eyes must greatly have enhanced its solemnity. 
At the time of His betrayal. He did not turn on His faith- 
ful servant Peter with rebukes; He merely looked on him, 
but there was so much concentrated in that look, so much 
of pity and of gentle, forgiving reproof, that Peter went 
away and wept bitterly. On the last day of the feast, it 
is said, “Jesus stood and cried. If any man thirst, let him 
come unto me and drink.” Picture Him suddenly paus- 
ing in the midst of the crowd and elevating His voice that 
all might hear, and imagine the startling effect His words 
must have produced. Surely had His manner been less 
dramatic His words had been less powerful. The scene in 
the synagogue of Nazareth is also worthy of mention. 
Having read the prophecy relating to Himself, He closed 
the book and handed it to the minister and sat down. 
His conduct drew to Him all eyes, and a hush of expecta- 
tion followed; and then, having secured the attention of 


184 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


His countrymen, He said, “ This day is this Scripture ful- 
filled in your ears.” The effect, judged by what followed, 
must have been electrical. If you recall His visit to 
Jerusalem immediately after His temptation you will 
remember that His announcement of His dignity and 
authority was not expressed first in discourse, but in 
action. He drove the money-changers out of the temple, 
and vindicated His right to do so afterward in language. 
His whole bearing on this occasion was intensely dra- 
matical, as it was when He withered the fig-tree, and as it 
was when He partook, with His disciples, of the Last Sup- 
per. In that upper chamber, when the feast was spread, 
when the symbols were present which proclaimed the 
self-sacrificing love of the Master, and the storm-clouds 
were gathering that soon were to burst over His devoted 
head — what could be more strikingly pathetic than His 
prediction, “One of you shall betray me?” Like King 
Lear in the pitiless tempest, vainly knocking at the doors 
of his daughters for shelter, and closing the fearful record 
of his woes with the words, “I have given you all;” Jesus, 
holding in His hand the emblems that said louder than 
speech, “I have given you all,” when He adds, “One shall 
betray me and all shall be offended because of me,” seems 
to lament that the hearts He had enriched should be 
closed against Him in His hour of extremity. No picture 
could be more highly wrought than this, and its interest 
lies as much in what is done as in what is said. The 
entire scene is a transactional parable, which tragically 
unfolds the graciousness of Christ and the ingratitude of 
man. When the Spartan mother laconically said to her 
sons, as they went forth to battle, “This, or on this,” it 
was the gesture directed toward the shield and the signifi- 
cant tones of her voice that explained her meaning. 
When Themistocles stood before the uplifted staff of 
Eurybiades and cried, “ Strike, but hear,” it was his bear- 


OIT PARABLE-MAKIKG. 


185 


ing, his look, his countenance, more than his famous 
answer, that averted the blow and saved Salamis. And 
thus throughout the ministry of Jesus, His manner threw 
light on His teachings, helped powerfully to change the 
current of human thought and conduct, and, with the aid of 
His spoken parables, transformed what would otherwise 
have been cold, colorless abstractions into “thoughts that 
breathe and into words that burn.” 

From this example we should learn to cherish the dra- 
matical element in religious instruction. As Robert Hall 
is reported to have recommended, we should have “ likes ” 
in our sermons, many comparisons, illustrations and such 
parables as we can fashion, if we can fashion them at 
all. Concerning the latter the following characteristic 
story is related of two eminent men of Kentucky who 
were on terms of closest intimacy. Rev. Robert Breck- 
enridge is said to have asked the celebrated Hon. Thomas 
Marshall why he never came to hear him preach. The 
answer he received was, “ When you preach in parables as 
did your Master I will attend and listen.” The good 
divine explained the difficulties in the way of following 
the suggestion, but was told by the witty lawyer in reply, 
that he would compose a parable for him, if he would 
preach it. The doctor consented, and they parted. 
Months passed away, and when they met again the 
preacher reminded the statesman of his promise. “Well,” 
said Thomas Marshall, “ I have not forgotten it, and to 
tell you the truth, Robert, I have given no small amount 
of time and labor to the production of a parable. I se- 
cluded myself, tried faithfully day and night, and at last 
abandoned the attempt convinced that only one man ever 
spoke in parables, and He, you know, ‘ spake as never 
man spake.’ ” This is a beautiful tribute to the sacred 
genius of our Lord, as deserved as it was unexpected from 
that source. But though it may not be easy to speak in 


186 JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 

parables, and though those of our Savior must forever 
stand by themselves unapproachable in excellence as His 
person was in purity, nevertheless we can by diligent 
study to some extent at least imitate His example and in 
some degree pattern the manner of our teachings after 
His, even as we try to shape our conduct by His life. 
That we instinctively turn to the dramatical in some 
form is seen on many sides. The Sunday-school adopts 
pictures, and blackboards on which may be drawn to 
the eye what the mind should believe, and constructs 
fables, and recites stories which may assist the young 
to an understanding of the inspired text. All this is 
legitimate. Some ministers are preaching with pictures 
in chalk to illustrate their thought, and most of them 
seek, however many may miss the object, to express 
fairly and graphically, in manner and action, the emotions 
they feel and the convictions they hold. Those who fail at 
times are inclined to reflect severely on those who succeed, 
describing their style as “ sensational,” a term which is 
supposed to denote meretriciousness, but which in reality 
describes the quality that should distinguish each sermon, 
a power to agitate men out of moral apathy, and rouse 
them to a sense of personal duty. Sad is it that some 
teachers should take merit to themselves for their failures, 
and that they should pelt with ill-natured remarks those who 
succeed. But their criticisms ought not to influence us in 
any way to disparage what Jesus has sanctioned, and what 
such preachers as Chrysostom, Whitfield and Edwards 
employed with marvelous power. 

A warning is likewise conveyed by our theme. If the 
dramatical element is so potent for good, surely if debased 
and perverted it must be potent for ill. Here lies the 
secret of the antagonism which thoughtful people have 
felt and still feel toward the theater. There the dramatic 
is divorced from its mission, and, to an extent appallingly 


CORRUPTIONS OF THE THEATER. 


187 


great, panders to lust and seduces to crime. Vice on the 
streets in undisguised filthiness or holding its unblushing 
orgies in the halls of the procuress does not compare with 
the stage when surrendered to shame, in power to corrupt 
and in wiles to destroy. On its boards even villainy is 
invested with charms, and its portraits of debauchery 
attract infinitely more than they repel. You who love the 
theater for what it might be, remember we condemn it 
only for what it is. For the sake of humanity, we heartily 
pray that it may be redeemed, and heartily thank all, 
whether connected with it or not, who in practical ways 
are seeking its redemption. Save it, if possible. Rescue 
the drama, which, like Samson in bonds, is abused as a 
slave, when it might rule as a king. But bear in mind 
that its power in these times is so generally regarded as 
perniciously terrible, that the Church, fearing God and 
loving man, dare not — aye, dare not — smile approvingly, 
or in anywise countenance its insidious attacks on the 
moral order of society. That it is thus arrayed against 
the highest interests of community its daily annals prove. 
Take in support of this statement the following article 
published recently in the columns of a leading Chicago 
daily paper: ‘‘The low tone of morals among a class of 
actresses is one of the alarming social symptoms of our 
day. If it has always been so, it was never before so 
flaunted in the face of the public as it now is. I don’t 
undertake to give moral lessons in these letters, but there 
are some things that are so offensive that it seems to me 
no writer for the press should fail to take note of them. 
A conspicuous one of them is the number of husbands 
that actresses are allowed to have and still be employed in 
respectable theaters ; and the number of followers that 
publicly attend those who are without husbands altogeth- 
er. Single women are shy of being old maids everywhere 
except on the stage. Here they seem to take pride in it, 


188 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


and don’t even assume their husband’s name when it is 
one to which they are faithful. But the way those who 
are married transfer themselves from one husband to 
another, is the most appalling feature of the case from a 
moral point of view, and leads one to believe that the 
stage recognizes little of permanence, if it does anything 
of sanctity, in the marriage relation. The worst that the 
pulpit says of the stage is justified by what we hear con- 
stantly in this way. The objectionable manners and bear- 
ing of actresses in public is another point that should not 
escape attention. A lady tells me that she saw a popular 
actress from New York recently, dressed in a manner that 
would attract attention anywhere, go into Parker’s dining 
room in company with one of the other sex. They called 
for two bottles of champagne, one after the other. Her 
companion left soon after, and she was then joined by a 
person of her own sex. They immediately called for a 
third bottle, which they drank, and were apparently get- 
ting ready for a fourth when this lady left the dining 
room. She said she had a curiosity to see how the actress 
could get out of it, but she could not wait. Yet this was 
a young girl but a year or two out of her teens, who was 
beginning thus early to lead a life, the character of which 
may be estimated from this public display.” Moreover, as 
though such scandalous scenes were not enough to brand 
the theater with infamy, the very posters on the wall of town 
and city giving an idea of its performances, placard its Sa- 
tanic character. From them, as well as from dramatic criti- 
cisms we gather that intellectually it is weak, and that ethi- 
cally it is monstrous. It caters to the basest appetites and 
passions of the public, considers not the moral murders it 
nightly commits, and has no regard even for the welfare 
of its unhappy employes. These latter are forced to toil 
Sunday as well as on week days, they earn a precarious 
living, and are driven frequently by excitement and disap- 


THE THEATER AND THE CHURCH. 


189 


pointment to drunkenness and despair. Yet it is inso- 
lently assumed that the Church should patronize the stage 
— that the bride of Christ should hold fellowship with a 
harlot. Such union is impossible. I do not say that she 
should indiscriminately denounce all actors — for among 
them are many worthy people, and they are entitled to 
consideration and respect; neither do I say that it is a 
sin for Christians at times to visit the theater to witness 
an unobjectionable play; but I do insist that the theater 
as an institution has so far gone over to corruption that it 
is better not to seem even to approve it, and that it is the 
duty of the Church, so long as this neighbor of hers pre- 
serves his present defiance of moral decency, to reprove 
and not condone his evil ways. She must stand aloof, 
helping her neighbor, if he permits, to a better life, but 
never seeming to sanction the evil courses into which he 
has fallen. If we are told that Schiller extols the mag- 
nanimity of Augustus in offering the forgiving hand to 
the conspirator Cinna, saying: “Let us be friends, China,” 
we can only reply, when our Cinna, the stage, shall purge 
itself of treason against the welfare of humanity, shall plot 
no more against its Sabbath and its purity, and shall really 
espouse its sacred cause, Augustus will gladly extend 
the fraternal hand — the Church will cheerfully say, “ Let 
us be friends, Cinna:” yea, and friends they will be, for 
they who in common seek the good of mankind can never 
be foes. 


XIII. 


THE PEOPHECIES OF JESUS. 

This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth. — Matt, xxi, 11. 

I N a very important sense, prophecy has been super- 
seded by history. The more we know in a natural 
way of the past, the less necessity there is of knowing 
anything supernaturally of the future. To the childhood 
of the world, when models of nobility and greatness were 
wanting, when neither pharos nor beacon had been de- 
vised, when everything had to be learned by experience, 
and when it was impossible either to anticipate the direc- 
tion of human progress or the events with which advanc- 
ing time was pregnant, prophecy must have been of ines- 
timable value. It must have scattered some of the shadowy 
lying dense and dark on the ages to come, must have 
brought at least their vague outlines into view, must have 
made obscurely clear the path which the feet of unborn 
millions would wearily tread, and must have helped pri- 
meval man to understand, by what inevitably would be, 
what he in his character and conduct should be. 

The predictions which the most venerable of books re- 
cord, and of which we find counterparts in the most 
sacred traditions of all nations, and which seem to ante- 
date all others, foreshowing the sufferings of the race and 
the advent of a Redeemer — “the seed of the woman who 
should bruise the serpent’s head ” — could not but exert a 
decisive and molding influence on the fortunes and desti- 
nies of mankind. The annals of all peoples justify this 
supposition. We find them replete with evidence that 

190 


THE USES OF HISTORY. 


191 


these predictions colored thought, shaped religions, and 
determined in a high degree the course of things, even as 
the promises made to Abraham affected the movements 
and the lives of his descendants. But the service thus 
rendered by prophecy is now more effectively performed 
by history. The latter has supplanted the former as a 
teacher, and its lessons are clearer and less mysterious. 
We see to-morrow in to-day, because we have read the 
record of yesterday. We behold the veil torn from human 
nature and its deepest secrets laid bare to the vulgar eye 
by the wars of passion and the conflicts of thought which 
have agitated the centuries. History shows to the eye 
an image of the pangs which the race has endured, reveals 
the sad scenes through which it has passed, and echoes 
the footfalls of its struggling and dying generations. It 
flashes a torch through the darkness of years on which 
the sun has forever gone down, and brings into the light 
the shadows of the dead to direct and instruct the living. 
Consequently, attention is more steadfastly fixed on what 
has been than on what is to be; and though at times curi- 
osity bends with hungry look over the abyss of the un- 
known, still the past of the world, more than its future, is 
appealed to with confidence for guidance and help. 

This measurably explains why prophecy ceased as his- 
tory advanced, and why its last outburst distinguished the 
age of Christ, and His apostles. Through a previous 
period, from the days of Malachi to the days of John, 
it had been suspended, partly on account of trans- 
gression, but mainly because sufficient light had been 
given to serve all practical purposes until the appearance 
of the Messiah. After He had wrought His mighty work 
among men, and had foreshadowed many things that 
should come upon the earth, it was natural, especially as 
the race was sufficiently cultured to write history and to 
appreciate its uses, that the prophetical office should end. 


192 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


This position, however, only holds good in regard to one 
of its functions — that one which thus far we have had 
exclusively in view, and with which this discourse pro- 
poses to deal. It should not be forgotten that the names 
which describe the prophets of God are significant of 
something more than the power of foreseeing the future. 
Indeed, some of their order were apparently unendowed 
with this gift. They were primarily men inspired to make 
known the thought of Jehovah. By their mouth came 
the messages, whether of promise or warning, and whether 
related to former or subsequent times, which God in his 
mercy saw fit to communicate. Among the Greeks they 
were regarded as interpreters, as the men appointed to 
articulate the will of the gods; and among the Jews they 
were likewise revered as the earthly voices of Heaven. A 
prophet in Israel was a man, and sometimes a woman, 
divinely prepared to speak of invisible things, to urge on 
the people their duty, to lead in moral reforms, and to 
reprove and rebuke the transgressors. In these respects 
this sacred office is perpetual. It has passed over to the 
ministers of the Gospel, who, though they are not directly 
inspired, are anointed to proclaim the truths of the Bible, 
and to apply them in such a way as the needs of the hour 
may demand. But its other and more mysterious func- 
tion has not been transmitted. We have no valid 
grounds for believing that preachers or astrologers, sev- 
enth sons or seventh daughters, are now inspired to 
prophecy, or that any person can in anywise presage the 
future, save as natural sagacity and an intimate acquaint- 
ance with human affairs may qualify to do so. 

When Jesus of Nazareth went up and down the dusty 
roads of Palestine, taught on the wayside, and healed in 
the streets, the multitudes glorified God, and exclaimed, 
“A great prophet is risen up among us, and God hath 
visited His people.” When He triumphantly entered 


THE TEST OF PROPHECY. 


193 


Jerusalem, and when the cry ascended, “Blessed is He 
that cometh in the name of the Lord,” in answer to the 
question propounded by the agitated city, “Who is this?” 
it was said, “This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth.” 
And though some of the Pharisees, forgetting the declara- 
tion of Isaiah, that the people of Galilee should see a great 
light, and forgetting that Jonah, Nahum, and Hosea were 
from that despised province, denied the possibility of a 
prophet arising in Galilee; yet such men as Nicodemus, 
doubtless remembering the words of Moses, “The Lord 
thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst 
of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me,” confessed that 
Jesus was just such a teacher. {LiiJce vii, 76; John vii, 
Jf.0—52; Deuteronomy xviii, 15.) This impression was 
undoubtedly made principally by the spiritual grandeur of 
the doctrines He unfolded, and, perhaps, not at all by the 
predictions He uttered. To judge the correctness of the 
latter requires the lapse of time; for the reputation of a 
seer depends, not so much on what he foretells, as on what 
comes to pass; but to judge the real character of the 
former, merely demands an enlightened mind and famil- 
iarity with the divine standard, such as we have in the Old 
Testament, by which it may be tried. We have already 
had an opportunity of testing His prophetical dignity 
by His doctrines, for they came before us in the sermon on 
His theology; and we are more advantageously situated 
than His contemporaries were to measure it by His pre- 
dictions, as we are in a position, eighteen centuries having 
passed away, to pronounce intelligently on their fulfillment. 
Nor can we undertake a more important work than this. 
To examine thoughtfully what He declared should take 
place in the future, to see how far it has been accom- 
plished, or is being accomplished to-day, is to apply to His 
claims a criterion of the most decisive nature, and to lay 
the foundation for conclusions honorable to Him and use- 


194 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


ful to ourselves. In attempting to aid you in this investi- 
gation I shall consider: 

First — The prophecies which relate to Himself. 

Secondly — The prophecies which pertain to His coun- 
trymen. 

Thirdly — The prophecies which refer to His kingdom. 

Almost from the beginning of His earthly ministry, 
Jesus seems to have been conscious of its tragical end. 
More than once He shows His disciples “how that He 
must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the 
elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed;” and 
how He should be betrayed and “delivered to the Gen- 
tiles, to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify Him.” 
(Matt, xvi^ 21, 2S; xx, 17-19.) On one occasion, when 
the people were amazed at the mighty power of God which 
appeared in Him, and when His disciples were undoubt- 
edly exulting. He reminded them again of the humili- 
ating conclusion of the whole matter — “The Son of Man 
shall be delivered into the hands of men.” As the solemn 
hour approaches. He prepares to meet it with dignity; 
pathetically He alludes to it when partaking with His 
friends of the last supper, and discourses, as calmly as 
Socrates did when confronting death, on those sublime 
themes which were to afford them comfort after His 
departure. These presentiments, if they deserve no higher 
name, were, to say the least of them, peculiar. It does 
not appear that either Buddha or Mohammed entertained 
such apprehensions, though their course was as objection- 
able to their countrymen as was that of Jesus. Tyrants 
have frequently been haunted by fears of a violent end; 
and sometimes rulers, not thoroughly bad, but whose 
administration has excited political animosity, have had 
singular premonitions of a bloody grave. Henry IV of 
France is an instance in point. We are assured by Sully 
and other reliable writers that that unfortunate monarch, 


THE SHADOW OF THE CROSS. 


195 


the first of the Bourbon dynasty, knew in advance the 
very day and hour of his assassination; that, according to 
Schiller, the funeral knell sounded continually in his ears; 
and that he actually prepared himself for the fatal stroke, 
feeling persuaded that no earthly precautions could avert 
the doom decreed by Heaven. But in those days murder 
was not uncommon, and the fate of his brother-in-law may 
have awakened solicitude, and this was undoubtedly deep- 
ened by the skillful machinations of his enemies. Thus, 
even his remarkable prescience may be accounted for 
without recourse to the supernatural. But it is difficult 
to feel that, in a similar way, the forebodings of Jesus can 
be explained. He was no oppressor. He had no reason 
to expect retaliation, for He had never injured a soul. 
His conscience was too spotless to awaken suspicion in 
His breast; and though He must have known that His 
doctrines would excite the bitter opposition of His coun- 
trymen, yet, as the power to inflict death was no longer in 
their hands, having been usurped by the Romans, and as 
they would be as likely to sympathize with Him as with 
them. He had no valid ground, in the circumstances which 
surrounded Him, for His minute and ominous announce- 
ments. To account for them rationally we must suppose 
that He was in some way preternaturally endowed, and 
that He foresaw what He did, through the interposition of 
Heaven. 

This inference is strengthened by His clear intimations 
of an approaching personal glory exceeding His shame, 
and with which there is nothing in the annals of human 
exaltation to be compared. When He speaks of His death 
He rarely omits to speak of His resurrection as well. 
{Matt, xvi, 21, 23; xvii, 22, 23; and xx, 17, 19.) In 
Jerusalem He said to the rulers: “Destroy this temple, 
and in three days I wall raise it up.” They who heard 
Him supposed that His language applied to their ancient 


196 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


and magnificent house; but the evangelist tells us that He 
“spake of the temple of His body.” “When, therefore, 
He was risen from the dead His disciples remembered that 
He said this unto them” (John 19-22). But this is not 
all. His foreknowledge traversed beyond His victory over 
death, and He represented Himself as drawing all men unto 
Him (John xii^ 23SJf)^ as being with His disciples unto 
the end of the world (Matt, xviii, 20), and as coming at 
last in the glory of His Father, with His angels, to reward 
every man according to his works (Matt, xvi, 21 ; xxiv, 
SO). These are astounding assumptions and stupendous 
expectations. Could He hope to realize them ? They are 
uttered calmly, with quiet confidence of their certain ful- 
fillment. Verily, “never man spake like this man.” 
Others have had premonitions of destined greatness; but 
none have expressed themselves in such terms as these. 
Caesar seems to have been fully persuaded that his fortunes 
were in the special keeping of the gods; Shakspeare, it 
is said, had a deep conviction of his future world-wide in- 
fluence; and Napoleon is generally credited with the belief 
that he was the creature of circumstances, and predestined 
to power and fame. But their gigantic anticipations 
dwindle into insignificance when compared with the un- 
surpassed proportions of our Lord’s vaticination regarding 
His own exaltation. It is hard to say whether we are 
more amazed when we contemplate the height which 
He expected to attain, or overwhelmed with astonish- 
ment at His presumption. We are certainly seized with 
giddiness, as, in imagination, we stand on the elevation 
which He so composedly surveyed, and cast our eyes on 
the breadth and the depth which He exposed to view. 
But, after all, He may only have spoken the words of truth 
and soberness. This is not a question to be decided 
by feeling, whether it inclines us favorably toward Him 
or not, but by evidence. What are the facts in the case ? 


CHKIST IS RISEN. 


197 


Have His predictions concerning Himself been sufficiently 
fulfilled, and in manner so palpable as to warrant the con- 
fidence that whatever remains will finally be accomplished? 
It is the well grounded belief of Christendom that He rose 
from the dead. I say well grounded, for the efforts of 
centuries have failed to invalidate the proof on which this 
alleged event relies. This proof I shall examine in a future 
discourse, and here simply remark that, however inconclu- 
sive some minds may esteem it, nevertheless it has suc- 
ceeded in multiplying converts, and in deepening the popu- 
lar conviction that the resurrection of Jesus is a fact. To 
the faith of many millions He has risen from the dead, and 
has become a living presence of incalculable power and 
majesty. Admitting, what I am not disposed to admit, 
that the alleged historical resurrection is a myth, neverthe- 
less, in view of His position in the thought and life of 
humanity, and of His boundless influence over its move- 
ments, His predictions have been marvelously honored. He 
is not a dead Christ to the world, but living; and we know 
that He rules imperiously in the domains of morals and 
religion, and that His law of right dominates the con- 
sciences of even those who scorn allegiance to His name. 
No combination of circumstances or of men has been able 
to dethrone Jesus or diminish His authority in the earth. 
In the changes of eighteen centuries, whether political, 
social, or religious. He has been the most potent of all 
forces; and to-day there is none other that reigns so 
absolutely in the affairs of men. What He said, therefore, 
regarding His exaltation in judgment has already come to 
pass. He is the Judge to whom humanity goes with the 
burden of its wrongs and sorrows, before whose righteous 
decision guilt trembles, and in whose justice outraged 
innocence reposes with confidence. What further evidence 
need we ? His startling assumptions have been vindicated 
by history, and the witness which it has borne is sufficient 


. 198 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


to convince us that the yet future manifestation of His 
glory is as certain as its past. 

The second class of our Lord’s prophecies concerns the 
tribulations which should befall His countrymen. When 
He was come nigh unto Jerusalem He wept, and sorrow- 
ingly said: “Thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, 
and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 
and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children 
within thee, and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon 
another.” {Luke £c^^c, 4^, Ji-L) On the Mount of Olives 
when He discoursed more particularly of these things. He 
told His disciples that they should see “the abomination of 
desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the 
holy place,” and mournfully added: “ They (the Jews) shall 
fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive 
into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of 
the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” 
{Matt, xxiv, lJf.-36^ Luke xxi, Beneath the tri- 

umphal arch of Titus at Rome, there is a sculpture repre- 
senting a procession of captives, among whom is seen the 
seven-branched golden candlestick, the silver trumpets, 
and the show-bread table which were part of the temple 
furniture, which mutely, but eloquently, bear testimony to 
the accomplishment of our Lord’s prophecy. That which 
is thus recorded in stone, to celebrate the conquest of 
Titus, and which in reality demonstrates the foreknowl- 
edge and faithfulness of Jesus, is elaborately described 
by Josephus. Read the account of the destruction of 
Jerusalem given by that author, and learn how com- 
pletely prophecy has been converted into history. Since 
that eventful period the woes of the chosen people have 
been indescribable. Constantine treated them as the most 
hateful of all nations; Justinian destroyed their synagogues 
and condemned their public worship; and the Emperors 
generally agreed in forbidding them to approach to what 


HIS BLOOD ON THE JEWS. 


199 


remained of Jerusalem. Likewise, they have been mal- 
treated, reviled and abused in all centuries, and up to our 
own time. They have been held responsible for plagues and 
famines, and have been persecuted and slain. Denounced 
by the clergy, mobs have attacked them, and the rich have 
oppressed them. The same sickening details are presented 
in all countries. The Plantagenets, the Capets, the Bour- 
bons, the House of Austria in Spain, and the House of 
Hapsburg in Austria, all bespattered their royal garments 
with Jewish blood. Even the so-called Christian Crusa- 
ders made frightful the streets of Treves, Metz, Cologne 
and Spires with fiendish slaughter of the helpless Israelites, 
and reddened the waters of the Moselle, the Rhine and the 
Danube with the crimson life-current from their veins. 
But if their sufferings have been unparalleled, their pres- 
ervation has been marvelous. Jerusalem has been trod- 
den down of the Gentiles, and the Gentiles yet possess it, 
and the outcast and outraged population has been scat- 
tered among all nations. The Portuguese found its repre- 
sentatives in India, missionaries discovered them on the 
plains of Abyssinia, and the English were confronted by 
them when they entered Aden in South Arabia. Every- 
where they seem to have wandered, and everywhere they 
are still distinct from the natives. According to natural 
law they should either be exterminated or assimilated by 
this time. No other race has been able to preserve its 
existence and identity under such circumstances; and this 
solitary exception, therefore, appeals to us more strongly, 
and forces onus the conviction that this ethnical phenome- 
non is due to the design of Providence, which, while leav- 
ing the race to the consequences of its transgressions, even 
as Christ foretold, has yet guarded it from annihilation, 
as Christ predicted, that ultimately, when Jerusalem has 
ceased to be trodden down of the Gentiles, it may be 
restored to more than its former glory, and thus become 


200 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


instrumental in completely establishing the prophetical 
character of Him whom, in the day of His agony, it 
rejected. 

While Jesus thus paints the future of His countrymen. 
He does not overlook the course of His Kingdom on earth. 
The third series of prophecies which He delivers embraces 
its conditions, its growth, its trials and its triumphs. He 
tells His disciples that false Christs shall arise and shall 
deceive many; that they themselves shall be hated of all 
nations for His sake, and shall be delivered up to affliction 
and death; that the Gospel shall be preached for a wit- 
ness unto all nations; and that, at last He shall return to 
gather His elect and establish His throne in justice and 
glory. {Matt, xxiv, xxv.) Perhaps in all the discourses 
of Jesus there is none where the pathetic and terrible meet 
so intimately, and where the storm-clouds gather so 
threateningly on a summer sky, as in the address where 
these predictions occur. In a masterly and overpowering 
manner He draws aside the curtains of time and presents 
his feeble Church, like a trembling bark submerged in 
waves, prostrate before winds and yet rising uninjured 
from the depths — opposed, rent and crushed by the forces 
of earth, and still emerging from the tempest stronger and 
more radiant. She is to be harassed by kings, misled by 
anti-Christs, betrayed by supporters, and humbled by fail- 
ures, and yet the Gospel of salvation from her lips is to 
spread like a new atmosphere through the vales, over the 
hills, and on the seas of our sin-tortured globe. Every- 
where it is to extend, carrying moral life, and hope, and 
joy to the dark places of earth and to the habitations of 
death. But these prophecies widen and widen in scope. 
They comprehend the actions of races and generations, 
until, at last, the sign of the Son of Man appears in the 
heavens. The picture the Savior paints becomes gloomier 
and gloomier; His brush at last seems to be dipped in 


THE VICTORY OF THE CHURCH. 


201 


blood; eternity appears to rush into time, rending society, 
shattering its pride and ambitions, and crushing in its 
might the enemies of God. 

Much of this portrayal is already history. We find the 
primitive Church beset behind and before by difficulties — 
her path a path of thorns, and her progress impeded by 
steep and savage mountains. How could she hope to 
escape the power of Jewish prejudice or conquer Roman 
arrogance? Yet she was freed from the one and tri- 
umphed over the other. But the end of one persecution 
and deliverance from one period only brought her face 
to face with new forms of old evils. Hunted by the Em- 
perors like a wild beast, she no sooner became their 
favorite, than they attempted to enmesh her in the silken 
net of worldliness. She struggled in the toils, and while 
in one sense rending them, in another she was fasci- 
nated by them, and carried them with her to heights of 
ungodly power. The air of courts corrupted her, and 
we soon see her climbing to the seat of supreme au- 
thority, and demanding from kings and peoples blind 
and unquestioning homage. What appeared to be the 
triumph of the Church was practically her ruin. She 
became great; but it was the greatness of time, not of 
eternity. She would have been lost to the race but for 
those who separated themselves from her, and thus we 
have the Church in two forms, or, rather, two forms claim- 
ing each to be the Church, opening the way again for 
persecutions, oppositions and blasphemies. Notwithstand- 
ing these drawbacks, she has steadily grown in beauty 
and in influence. In spite of divisions, and weakness, and 
poverty, the deadliness of climates, and the hostility of 
alien tribes, she has carried her message from pole to pole, 
circumnavigated the globe with it, and fixed it perma- 
nently in the languages of every land and people. The 
foreign-mission enterprise is no longer a vision, a dream. 


202 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


an experiment, but a reality and success. But if these 
things foreshown by Christ are now matters of history, by 
what logic can we discredit what still remains to be ful- 
filled ? Open anew the prophecies which relate to coming 
time, and you will not find anything more improbable than 
has already been accomplished, and certainly from what 
has been and from what inevitably must be we cannot 
but infer that Jesus of Nazareth was a true prophet, 
worthy the reverence and confidence of all ages. 

And as such, let me pray you to confide in Him impli- 
citly. Jesus upbraids Jerusalem for killing the prophets, 
and seeking to palliate her guilt by hypocritically rearing 
tombs to their memory. Do not many of us deal with 
Jesus after this fashion? We do not hear Him; we do 
not obey Him; we cast Him forth from our hearts; we do 
not permit Him practical concern with our life; but we 
build Him a tomb. We render Him the homage of death 
in the sanctuary; we call Him the wonderful Christ, the 
divine and sacred Christ. Our praises are epitaphs and 
funeral dirges, and are as creditable to us, and bespeak 
the same kind of appreciation, as the tomb-building of the 
Pharisee. Rest assured, as God demanded from the 
Jews “all the righteous blood shed upon the earth from 
Abel unto the blood of Zacharias,” so will He require at 
your hand an account of your conduct toward Christ. He 
sent Him to warn, to guide, to enlighten; to show what 
lies around you, and what opens before you. This has 
been done. To honor the prophet, it is needful that his 
message be welcomed, that his counsel be followed, that 
his predictions be trusted. In this way gratitude is 
expressed, and a whole graveyard of monuments God will 
not take in exchange for it. And if in this manner you 
shall “receive the Prophet in the name of the Prophet,” 
as it is written, “you shall receive the Prophet’s reward.” 


XIY. 


THE PHILAHTHEOPY OF JESUS. 

“ Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of 
the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me .” — Matthew 
xxi^ 40. 

B eing in Rome, I visited the Vatican, not to see Pope 
Leo, but to contemplate the multitudinous works of 
art collected beneath the palace roof. There are master- 
pieces of Greek and Roman sculpture. Mercuries, Dianas, 
Apollos, Laocoons, Fauns, Satyrs, are arranged along the 
corridors, or displayed in separate cabinets, and taken to- 
gether are worth a life of study. But my profit and pleasure 
were considerably diminished by the frosty atmosphere that 
prevailed throughout the stately building. In the different 
apartments there were braziers of charcoal that gave forth 
a faint glow ; and it was pathetic to see the students of art, 
and the visitors who had come determined to be benefited, 
trying to warm themselves by the mocking fires. Heat was 
practically absent ; and after a little while, the groups that 
had tried in vain to keep from shivering disappeared through 
the open doorways inviting to the sunshine, their love of 
comfort or fear of premature death overcoming their love 
of the beautiful. 

Never were there presented to human thought so many 
fair ideals of perfect loveliness, refining the heart and 
exalting the imagination, as are furnished hy Christianity. 
Within her sacred courts are the gigantic forms of spiritual 
heroism, the graceful figures of heavenly perfectness, and, 

203 


204 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


withal, memorials of the mighty past when God held con- 
verse with men, and Jesus died for sinners, surpassing in 
interest the tablets and sarcophagi which fill so large a space 
among the antique treasures of the Popes. But it is gener- 
ally very cold. Here and there in the sacred galleries a few 
Christians are found, and emit the cheering blaze of generous 
sympathy ; and these gleaming enthusiastic circles draw to 
themselves many of the halt, the lame, the poor and suffer- 
ing. But the larger portion of the sacred edifice is unhappily 
filled with air some degrees below zero. There seems to be 
so little real interest in human welfare, so chill a flame of 
love for those who are without, and on the part of the 
throngs without such a sense of winter, of the winter 
of hunger and friendlessness, that they have no heart 
to consider the grand, sweet things religion teaches ; and 
they live away from the Church and seek the sunshine else- 
where, anywhere, outside in the giddy, glittering world. Our 
Savior in this Scripture aims to avert so deplorable a con- 
tingency. And so should we. God help us. 

I have never cared to reduce melody to monotone, poetry 
to prose, sublimity to commonplace, beauty to plainness, or 
flowers and precious stones to their constituent elements. 
So I have never cared to analyze parables too nicely, to rob 
them of the charm which attaches to them as a whole, extract- 
ing from each part some precise meaning until they cease to 
be pictures and degenerate into far-fetched enigmas. It cer- 
tainly would not improve the human form or aid it to speak 
its inspiring thoughts to place it on the rack, breaking its 
bones and dislocating its limbs. So neither by a similar 
process of interpretation may we hope to sympathize with 
the eloquent intent of our Lord in His gracious and graceful 
word-paintings. Nor are the settings and framework of 
these master-pieces of the first moment, while, of course, 
every detail of His teachings is of interest. In this instance 
He is discoursing on last things, and draws accordingly 


CHRIST AND HUMANITY. 


205 


a vivid sketch of the final award ; but this is not as signifi- 
cant as the doctrine involved in His representations con- 
cerning His relation to mankind and the essential genius of 
the philanthropy He came to illustrate. And it is this phi- 
lanthropy which He would have His disciples copy, apart 
from all incidental features of the parable, I desire to unfold 
and to apply. 

It is to be observed that Christ identifies Himself with the 
most wretched types of human life. In the sad enumeration 
we find the prisoner, the stranger, the sick, the naked, the 
hungry, and the thirsty. The moral condition of these suffer- 
ing classes is not even remotely referred to. We know that 
the ills endured on earth are not always the result of personal 
guilt, and that there is such a thing as vicarious losses and 
burdens. Naturally we suppose when our Lord allies Him- 
self to the afflicted. He restricts His brotherhood to those 
afflicted ones who are morally pure. But there is no Scrip- 
ture warrant for this assumption. Remember it is written 
that ‘‘He took on Himself our nature, yet without sin,” that 
“He made His death with the wicked as well as with the 
rich,” and that when in the world He exhibited an extraordi- 
nary interest in the outcasts of both sexes. He jeopardized 
His own reputation by eating with publicans and sinners ; 
and, what is even more to the point, in “ due time Christ 
died for the ungodly,” and not only “ carried our grief, but 
bore our iniquities.” It would seem, therefore, that we are 
justified in concluding that His identification of Himself in 
this parable with the wretched embraces the blameworthy as 
well as the blameless. 

He is kin to all the world, and His heart beats in tenderest 
sympathy with those whose misfortunes have reached the 
climax of calamity through the consciousness of personal 
guilt. Just as the gracious sun draws to itself water from 
the stagnant, slim}’ pool as well as from the unpoisoned 
ocean, and in its mysterious fire purges, and every drop 


206 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


returns pure and glistening, so Jesus bj" His incarnation 
takes humanity as a whole into His bosom that each indi- 
vidual may be renewed, and may become a shining blessing 
to the race. What a comment is this on the usual attitude 
of more favored members of society toward the degraded and 
despairing! As long since as the days of Job, privations 
and afflictions were esteemed the sure marks of Divine dis- 
approval, and as forfeiting the claims of the victim to con- 
sideration. In pagan lands and in times nearer to our own, 
the same spirit prevailed, only with more unreasoning bitter- 
ness. Success, prosperity, freedom from care, became the 
test of merit ; and where these blessings were not enjoyed, 
it was not deemed illegitimate to hound, abuse, curse, and 
deride the children of adversity. If the theories underlying 
these practices have been somewhat modified by Christianity, 
the practices have not altogether ceased. In some quarters 
there is an assumption that business victories are closely 
allied to virtues, and that evil fortune must result from ill- 
desert. Hence the bearing of the purse-proud toward the 
poor is generally patronizing and pretentious. Where this 
is not the case, there is still manifest a feeling that the 
people who have gone wrong morally should not be pitied, 
but should be left to endure the full measure of penalty. 
“Why should we interfere?” inquires the respectable citi- 
zen. ‘ ‘ These moral bankrupts are not entitled to com- 
passion, and schemes of reform are impertinent attempts to 
revise the providence of God. Let the riff-raff go to the 
dust bins, and even let us aid Providence by heaping the 
dust upon them.” 

But the thought of Christ is not cast in this mold. He 
does not countenance the theory that gain and goodness are 
inseparable ; but He teaches that instead of adding to the 
shame and sorrow, even of the infamous, we are to sympa- 
thize with them, and, if possible, save, the extent of our 
obligation to help being determined by the extent and deplor- 


THE RULE OF PHILANTHKOFT. 


207 


ableness of their need. Instead of defilement, deformity, 
and utter degeneracy repelling, they are rather to attract, in 
hope of relaxing their terrible hold. The reason of this is 
the very reason for the incarnation itself, which, though 
springing from the love of God, must have been influenced 
by the fact that the loss of humanity would be a terrible loss, 
there being in it a grandeur back of its sinfulness, the eter- 
nal eclipse of which would impoverish the universe. In our 
harsh, sweeping judgments we are tempted to say of whole 
classes of our fellows, “ the world would be better without 
them. Let them perish, yea, b3" our scorn and neglect let 
us help them to perish.” But Jesus answers: “Stop; my 
Father’s glory would have been shadowed, a void throughout 
His kingdom would have been felt, if man had been left to 
destruction, hence I became incarnate to disclose the worth 
of his nature, and to save ; and it is that worth, attested by 
Heaven, that calls on you, in spite of demerit, to always 
consider him as one with myself.” 

It follows, if Christ has identified Himself with the most 
wretched types of human life we must deal with these types 
as we would with Himself. He does not leave us in doubt 
as to what He would have a right to expect in specific 
circumstances of adversity. He is clear and definite in His 
directions. If He were hungry He would expect us to feed 
Him ; and were He naked, or sick, or in prison, He would 
look for relief suitable to His necessities. So Christian 
philanthropists must adapt their ministrations to the peculiar 
needs of the suffering classes. While beyond all doubt 
spiritual succor is the blessing most imperatively demanded, 
this must not be so understood as to supersede temporal 
relief. Christianity is social in its scope as well as spiritual. 
While I can sympathize with the old preacher, who, when 
reproved for not speaking on topics of the times answered : 
“ Well, if my brethren are given to discussions on the times, 
surely one poor minister may be allowed to dwell on eter- 


208 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


nity” — still the true rule is that “ the one should be done 
and the other not be left undone.” Divine teachers may 
not be indifferent to the earthly well-being of their fellows. 
The early Church was considerate of the poor, and did not 
even despise the criminal classes. Her benefactions, Em- 
perors being judges, had much to do with the conquest of 
the pagan world. So even in the Middle Ages she was the 
almoner of states and kings, and though often she abused 
her trust, she was looked on as the friend of the friendless 
and fallen. In a season much giving to rationalizing, and 
to poor-laws and secular bounties, she grew inactive in this 
department of her mission. Healthy signs, however, are 
not wanting of a practical revival of interest in this work. 
General Booth’s book. Darkest England^ has done a good 
beyond securing money for a direct endeavor to save “ the 
submerged tenth ” ; for it has thrown light on the terrible 
condition of millions of men and women, and has quickened 
the conscience of the Church as to her obligations. While 
he is to be criticised for not calling attention to what she 
is already accomplishing in this field, his appeal and censure 
have justified her in showing what she is doing, and have 
stimulated her to attempt more. But there is a peril even 
in his elaborated plans, an evil to be avoided in all schemes 
of social assistance ; it is that complicated organization may 
obscure the heart, with the tender compassion, that really 
prompted it and to which its maintenance is due. 

This brings me to a notable feature in our parable. Jesus 
emphasizes personal contact and personal influence in phi- 
lanthropy. “Ye did it to Me,” or “ye did it not,” “ye 
visited, ye fed, ye clothed,” says He. You cannot without 
blame hand over your charities to committees. In these 
times complex mechanism is undoubtedly required ; but even 
there, where the multiplied wheels are “beneath the wings 
the hands of a man ” should be seen. Within certain limits 
it is indispensable that we cooperate with others ; only that 


EXPERTS IN BENEVOLENCE. 


209 


does not end individual responsibility, or absolve from indi- 
vidual oversight. Were Jesus Himself the object of our 
care, we would not willingly minister to Him by substitute. 
We would desire to see Him, and to show that our service 
was one of love, not merely of expediency or of necessity. 
This is the example we are to follow in dealing with the 
unhappy and unfortunate among our neighbors ; and this 
is the more imperative as any other method must fail of 
permanent good. I do not say that the crust of bread is 
to be given always with the direct intent of accomplishing 
spiritual benefit ; for at times it should be given to save from 
starvation. But whatever the intent, if given in a proper 
spirit, it must produce higher results than the satisfying of 
hunger. Let it be bestowed thoughtfully, generously, ten- 
derly, and the act will rouse the nobler nature in the recipi- 
ent. We have theological seminaries to teach men how to 
preach ; but where are the schools to teach how to be wisely 
benevolent ? We have training-schools to instruct youths 
and maidens in the science of Bible interpretation ; but where 
the institution that will reveal how to succor the needy and 
not leave bitterness behind? Genius and labor are given to 
the acquisition of knowledge on all subjects, and we qualify 
experts to attend to houses, horses, and other ordinary 
things, but we never think of adepts in the difficult task of 
relieving without brutalizing. The majority of benevolent 
souls are novices, and their liberality does themselves more 
good than it does to those who receive the gift. But they 
have no more right to gratify themselves in this way than 
the maskers in Rome during Carnival have to endanger their 
neighbors’ eyes by the reckless throwing of confetti. We 
ought to stud}', — study men and especially Christ’s way of 
doing good. Sir Edwin Arnold, in his latest poem, very 
picturesquely discloses the result of His method. He com- 
pares Mary of Magdala to a majestic Mount in Cathay or 
Japan, “ whose lofty bulk, raged once all flame,” — 


210 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


“ Which broke its boundaries, 

And, — torn and red and furious, — scattered round 
Levin, and lava-slime, and barren ash. 

Blighting what lay below, then came the hush ; 

And that which was all terrible grew fair. 

The Hill of Hell is crest of Paradise ! ” 

Then follows a glowing description of this mountain after 
the subsidence of the terrible eruption. He then applies the 
contrast to the saved Magdalene. She had been “ brought 
from passions stilled,” from “ tempests of the blood,” and 
now fairer is she than when — 

“All the South was loud with talk of her 
Who walked in woven gold, and wore her braid — 

A queen of sin — crowning the shameless brow 
With diadem of tresses, tied with pearls.” 

How came this marvelous transformation? Jesus had 
saved her from the devils that possessed her. He rescued 
her body from a deadly curse, and that brought her soul in 
homage to the spiritual truths He proclaimed. 

It must be evident that we do not deal with the poor as 
with Christ Himself when charity is administered in the 
spirit of ostentation or of officialism. We cannot have for- 
gotten our Lord’s description of those who do their alms 
before men, to be seen of them, and His exhortation for the 
right hand to be kept in ignorance of the left hand’s doing. 
Here we have the doing of a good thing in a mean way, 
with the inevitable debasement. The community of the im- 
pecunious sitting in judgment is only confirmed in its impe- 
cuniosity by what it sees. Cynically it argues, if giving to 
the poor did not bring an adequate compensation these men 
would not give, and hence it is questionable whether the 
giver or the receiver is the real pauper ; for the proud Phar- 
isee has a hunger and thirst for praise which would never be 
appeased except for the mendicant. As in such a case 


CHARITY MAKING PAUPERS. 


211 


there is no appeal to the gratitude and the nobler nature of 
the beneficiary, there is no motive introduced leading to self- 
hood and self-respect. The beggar pays in adulation for 
current cash, and as the equivalent has been given no obli- 
gation is felt. 

There is likewise a blustering, insulting way of conferring 
relief that leaves a sting behind, and that converts an 
agency of good into an instrument of torture. In this 
instance the Phariseeism is of a different type, but it is the 
same miserable spirit of self -display. The lordly giver, 
whose own transactions would hardly bear the scrutiny of 
the Grand Jury, impressively lectures the applicant for help 
on his evident lack of industry and frugality, on his 
shiftlessness and general worthlessness ; and thus having- 
demonstrated to his own satisfaction his own personal supe- 
riority he doles out a miserable pittance. Verily, he and 
the rest of them have their reward. One pays for praise, 
and he gets it ; the other for a docile listener, and he gets 
what he desires ; but the All-Father is angry with them, for 
they are spreading the disease they pretend to cure. 

When our Savior expresses His mind on this subject, 
there are usually some persons who pretend to misunder- 
stand his meaning. Ask them for a contribution, and they 
reply : “ My right hand must not know what my left does ; ” 
or, in a stiff, dignified way, “I never give to be seen of 
men.” Now, as a rule, the left hand could not know what 
the right bestows, for it never bestows anything, and a 
microscope w'ould be necessary to discover what such per- 
sons have ever given to the poor. Do not pervert Scriptures : 
your giving may be seen of men and must be seen by some 
men, — by the recipients at least ; but unless it is given 
for the purpose that men may see, there is no distortion of 
the grace itself. Remember that God sees through paltry 
excuses of every description, and traces all of them to one 
source — the heart destitute of love. 


212 


JESUS THE WORLD S SAVIOR. 


While we regret the existence of ostentation, we likewise 
deplore the prominence often given to officialism in the work 
of charity. This perversion is not frequent in churches. Of 
course, those who are charged with the delicate task of succor- 
ing the needy, have to make necessary inquiries — for they 
are accountable to others for the money they spend — and 
hence may seem perfunctory and exacting ; but rarely can 
they be fairly accused of a lack of sympathy or of tenderness. 
But if we may believe a tithe of the stories that come to us 
the same cannot be said of the dispensation of charity by the 
officers of various benevolent societies. Personally, I am not 
willing to give credence to reports damaging to institutions of 
this character. I, therefore, express no opinion on the sub- 
ject ; and only utter a word of warning. The peril is, that 
officialism may counteract and frustrate the higher purpose of 
the assistance afforded. There may be such coldness, such 
unsparing curiosity, such inquisitorial cruelty, such an inva- 
sion of all that is private in life, and, wdthal, such coarseness, 
that the suppliant may feel outraged and humiliated beyond 
expression, and may lose the last instinct of self-respect. 
The English people profess to have a horror of the work- 
house and the almshouse, and yet these asylums are crowded. 
Evidently a loveless system has failed to diminish indigence. 
I wonder whether the explanation lies in the probability that 
the system itself tends to brutalize? Understand, I do not 
plead for, nor expect, on the part of paid representatives of 
philanthropy anything approaching to passionate interest in 
their work ; but I do insist that it is dishonored by harshness, 
impatience, andliy unnecessary endeavors to make the help- 
less feel their desolation and friendlessness. 

Nor is charity exercised in the spirit of this parable, and 
as to Christ Himself when it is tainted by partisanship or 
paternalism. We are all aware that there are many schemes 
in vogue, plans and institutions for the relief of the indigent. 
On none of these do I desire to pass judgment ; for I prefer 


ALMS FOR THE RICH. 


213 


to leave the application of my thoughts to those who are 
directly interested. But I admonish you not to make the 
cause of charity a plea for an assault on the rich. There are 
so-called social philanthropists whose sole business is to 
kindle animosity and antipathy, and to create the impression 
that prosperity has no rights adversity is bound to respect. 
No good comes of this talk, and it only tends to alienate 
classes from each other. Consider how much has been done 
by millionaires for the development of the country, and of the 
vast sums they have spent in alleviating sorrow and suffering. 

But, on the other hand, philanthropy must not seem to 
befriend the wealthy. Charity departs from the ideal of the 
Galilean when it sets itself to fulsome praise of the money 
power, and especially does it err when it becomes oblivious to 
wrongs inflicted by greed. May charit}" ever become indig- 
nant, may she take up the cry of “ woe ! woe ! woe ! ” to the 
oppressor? As it is she is taxed to eke out the insufficient 
wages paid by capital to labor. Benevolent organizations 
make up deflciencies, supply fuel and medicine, in some of 
the families where pants are made for nine and a half cents a 
pair, or knee pants for sixteen cents a dozen pair, or aprons 
for about fifteen cents a dozen (see White Slaves by Banks). 
That is, the general public is helping to maintain the employes 
of these firms, while the profits go into the pockets of the firm. 
This is protection with a vengeance. We first impose a reve- 
nue on the people in the interest of manufacturers, and then 
we tax the people a second time to provide for the under- 
paid laborers of these same corporations. Charity must pro- 
test. Silence on her part means degradation. She must, of 
course, assist the sufferer ; but she ought, at the same time, 
to placard by name the business concerns that are guilty. 

She ought also to realize that it is not her business to take 
care of the indigent, to supersede entirely their endeavors, 
but to relieve present distress and to prepare the helpless to 
provide for themselves. We have no right to breed pauper- 


214 


JESUS THE WORLD S SAVIOR. 


ism ; and the acts that do so are not as beautiful as many 
imagine, and are not in accord with the example of our Lord. 
It is well known to students of economics that when Rome 
supplied corn gratuitously to the populace, oil and wine had 
to be added, and that independence and energy declined as 
these benefactions increased. England from Elizabeth’s 
time has gone through the same experience ; and it will ever 
be so. It is, therefore, in the interest of self-reliant man- 
hood that I protest against paternalism. If we create the 
impression that all persons have a right to be sustained by 
others, the beggarly clientage of society will multiply indefi- 
nitely. It is asked. Has not every man a right to bread? 
Yes, if he earns it ; and if he is past earning it he ought to 
receive it : but if men do not sufficiently value life to provide 
for it, then we ought not to be so terribly anxious to preserve 
an existence they value so lightly. But scores of benevolent 
souls never think of this, and just follow their generous 
impulses without counting the cost. The story is told of a 
venerable clergyman coming in from Cambridge one sultry 
day, and seeing an old gentleman with his hat in his hand he 
dropped a quarter in it and hurried away, happy in the con- 
sciousness of a good deed done ; and yet the recipient of his 
bounty was Oliver Wendell Holmes, who needed not the 
money, and who had only taken off his hat to mop his per- 
spiring forehead. This incident opens a volume of interest- 
ing casuistry. What right had the giver to give without any 
practical aim, and run the risk of making the receiver believe 
that society ought to look after his particular welfare ? Not 
in this way would Jesus have us assist the poor; and cer- 
tainly not in any such way as this would we presume to min- 
ister to Him, were we to come suddenly into His presence. 

There is another thought in the Scripture we are studying 
worthy of consideration. We are assured, if we deal with 
the most wretched types of human life as we would with 
Christ Himself, He will regard our ministry as directed 


IN HIS NAME. 


215 


toward Himself, and will esteem and honor it accordingly. 
This is plainly stated, and the force and beauty of the par- 
able are particularly apparent at this point. Note, it does 
not say, because you succored the needy for My sake I praise 
you, but only, though unconscious of an}’ purpose to succor 
Me, you really did so in helping suffering men and women. 
How readily would we do everything that is commanded in 
this Scripture were the Savior as we know Him in need. 
I say as we know Him, exalted, triumphant, regnant. Were 
the King on earth, and by some mishap in prison, we would 
go to Him and visit Him gladl}’ ; of course, I would not vouch 
for our alacrity were we in doubt of His personality. But 
might not this ministry be somewhat suspected of self-inter- 
est, as when one merchant lends another a check in an emer- 
gency that he may borrow in his turn ? It is different when 
we feed the hungry, and clothe the naked, simply as mem- 
bers of the same race as ourselves ; for then we give without 
expecting a recompense. Generosity and unselfishness in 
these circumstances have opportunity of development and 
free play. The impression in some minds that what is done 
in the name of Christ must be morally elevated and free from 
harmful elements is not outborne by history. Motive does 
not always insure golden deeds, however it may gild them. 
How many crimes have been committed, how many mean- 
nesses have been perpetrated in His name, we cannot esti- 
mate. It has been made an excuse for atrocious cruelties, 
for abominable excesses, villainous outrages, and deadly 
feuds. Indeed, it has been allied with so many wrongs, we 
have grown suspicious, and when paraded we begin to doubt 
the sincerity of the speaker. Often, too, when it is not 
spoken how much of sweet charitableness we discover. 

Lately a woman applied to a church officer for relief. Her 
story was a sad one. When asked about her husband she 
said, “ He could neither read nor write, and found it hard to 
procure employment, and had been thrown out of work by 


216 


JESUS THE world’s savior. 


the falling in of a tunnel where he had been engaged. He 
never spent a penny on drink, was mindful of his family, 
and was a good man, but not a Christian.” How strange it 
sounds, good but not a Christian; and there are many such. 
Surely to such the Lord would say, “ As ye did it unto one 
of the least of these My brethren, ye did it unto Me.” 
That I have not missed the Savior’s thought observe the 
surprise of both parties at the great Assize. Those who 
had done good disclaim having done it to Jesus, and those 
who had neglected to do it are equally amazed that they 
should be blamed for not having ministered to Him. 
Tolstoi, in my opinion, catches the spirit of our Lord’s 
teaching in the story of the shoemaker who expected one 
day a visit from the Christ. While waiting he feeds an old 
soldier, succors a forlorn woman and her child, and recon- 
ciles an aged grandmother selling apples, and a wanton boy. 
And at night when disappointed he reads this parable, he 
realizes that the Lord was with him in these suffering 
creatures and he knew it not. And in the following sweet 
little anecdote we have another illustration equally forceful : 

A Russian soldier, one very cold, piercing night, kept 
duty between one sentry-box and another. A poor working 
man, moved with pity, took off his coat and lent it to the 
soldier to keep him warm ; adding that he should soon reach 
home, while the soldier would be exposed out-of-doors for 
the night. The cold was so intense that the soldier was 
found dead in the morning. Some time afterwards the 
poor man was laid on his death-bed, and in a dream saw 
Jesus appear to him. “You have got my coat on,” said 
the man. “Yes, it is the coat you lent to Me that cold 
night when I was on duty and you passed. I was naked 
and you clothed Me.” 

I am not oblivious to the theological difficulty which this 
view presents. Are we to conclude that men are saved by 
works, and that, after all the Puritans have said to the 


THE EXCf:LLENCY OF PHILANTHROPY. 


217 


contrary, merit does attach to them? I have long been of 
the opinion that we carry the Puritan idea too far. The 
works that do not save are specified as “ works of the law,” 
or “of the flesh” — ^.e., conformity to ceremonialism, and 
deeds that are prompted by carnal motives and pride — as 
in the case of those “ who did their alms before men, to be 
seen of them, and had their reward.” But the charities 
inspired by the gospel and performed in its beautiful disinter- 
estedness, while they do not atone for sin, have in them 
a gracious worth, or they would not be commended as they 
are, and have also a saving tendency, as bringing the heart 
into harmony with the spirit of Jesus and leading to Him as 
Redeemer. “He that doeth My words shall know 'of the 
doctrine.” And in this parable, mark the benefactions dis- 
pensed bring at last to Jesus ; for He discloses Himself to 
the lovers of their kind as the supreme arbiter of their 
destiny. We have, therefore, reason to believe that the 
benevolence of the benevolent will gradually open their eyes 
to the loveliness of their Lord. 

Yet I am bound to say that he is happy who tarries not 
in his acceptance of the Savior; for living fellowship with 
Him will refine the heart and render susceptible the feelings, 
and, in this case, will lead us to succor many who have not 
the least resemblance to Him. Even such will be surprised 
at the last. Some whom we did aid disclose a likeness to 
their Lord ; and in the light of this parable we know whom 
we assist. But the most wretched are godless and deformed, 
and present no trace of kindred to Him or to His people. 
Will it not, therefore, be a surprise, even though we have 
meditated on this Scripture, to hear Him say, “As ye did 
it unto them ye did it unto Me ? ” 

The most impressive sight I saw during a sojourn in 
Europe was a funeral. It was not the obsequies of a 
monarch or soldier, but of a woman ; not a queen, but an 
earnest follower of Jesus. The services were held in Olym- 


218 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


pia, an enormous building, and thirty thousand people were 
present. The day had been foggy, and the mists rolled into 
the vast auditorium, obscuring the end of the hall when the 
cortege entered. Through the haze there first appeared the 
draped flags, and then the forms of men and women, in what 
seemed like military array. It was the “Salvation Arm}'” 
bearing the body of Mrs. Booth, of whose praise the papers 
for days before had been full. When I saw the tiny casket 
so reverently borne, and remembered the loving homage of 
the people, and that it was all because she had served the 
most wretched of the race, I could not but recall the words, 
“As ye did it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, 
ye did it unto Me.” And as I turned away from the throng 
I repeated the text, and thoughtfully recalled Sir Edwin 
Arnold’s poetic paraphrase, — 

“ ‘ Enter ye in, who nursed Me, lying sick, 

And fed Me, being hungered ; gave Me robes 
When I was naked, wiped My tears away 
In heavy-hearted days, and pitied Me, 

And helped Me, cast in prison with the thieves I ’ 

And when we answer : ‘ Oh, dear Lord ! but how 
Saw we Thee sick, or hungered, or unclad, 

Or sad, or cast in prison? ’ Christ shall say : 

‘ Inasmuch as ye did it to the least 
Of these My brothers, it was done to Me ! 

Aye! ’twas to Me, — and ’twas to God through Me — 

Ye gave that cup of water 1 I lay sick 
With him ye succored ; I was languishing 
In prison with the broken hearts ye cheered ; 

That was My nakedness ye covered up 
Clothing My Poor ; I was the babe ye fed ; 

I was that widow whom ye visited ; 

Share My joy now, who helped My Father then ! 

Enter ye in ! ’ ” 


XV. 

THE TEAXSFIGHKATIOX OF JESHS. 


He was transfigured before them . — Mark ix, 2. 

I N the northern boundary of Palestine Mount Hermon 
stands robed with verdure and crowned with snow. 
Its venerable triple crest rises some ten thousand feet 
above the western sea, and overlooks the land of Zebulon 
and of Naphtali, and even brings within the range of 
vision the silver-gleaming waters of Galilee, and the broken, 
rugged country about Nazareth. From the near neigh- 
borhood of Caesarea Philippi Jesus, with three of His dis- 
ciples, came to pray and meditate on those white hills near 
to Heaven; and there the resplendent event described in 
the text took place, which had more of heavenly glory in 
it than any other that occurred during His earthly ministry. 
Both He and His followers needed the composure which 
Nature’s tranquillity is fitted to impart, and the seclusion 
for communion with God which Nature’s solitudes afford, 
for they had been conversing on subjects discouraging and 
distressful, and He had grown weary with their dullness, 
and they with His impenetrable paradoxes. Peter had 
confessed that Jesus was the Christ, “the Son of the living 
God,” and Jesus had discoursed on the character and the 
indestructibleness of His church; but just as hope and 
enthusiasm were kindling their fires in the breast of the 
apostles. He began to speak of His betrayal and death. 
They were instantaneously depressed, and having remon- 
strated with Him they were thrown into deeper de- 
spondency by His announcement that even they “must 

219 


220 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


lose their life if they would save it.” This was more than 
they could bear. That they, the chosen of Heaven, the 
representatives of the new economy, should be subject to 
humiliation and cross-bearing was so contrary to their ex- 
pectations that it was offensive to their pride and incredible 
to their faith. The Master, while worn and tried by their 
childishness and by their apparent inability to appreciate 
what He said regarding the inevitableness of His resur- 
rection, and yet sympathizing with their perplexities, as- 
sured them that some among them should not taste death 
till they had seen the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom. 
The fulfillment of this prediction would convince them 
that the darkness which they dreaded was inseparable from 
the light, and that the cheerless valleys through which 
they and He were bound to pass would widen at last into 
the broad sunlit plains of victory. Thus He sought to re- 
move the doubts and fears of His followers, and, according 
to the testimony of Peter, His encouraging prophecy was 
accomplished when He was transfigured before them “in 
the holy mount” {II Peter ^, 16 - 18 ). 

When Moses returned from his mysterious intercourse 
with the Almighty on Sinai, the skin of his face shone so 
intensely that Aaron and the children of Israel were afraid. 
An apostle referring to this phenomenon says that they 
could not steadfastly behold his face for the glory of his 
countenance; and, consequently, he had to wear a veil 
until he had completed the delivery of his message. Just 
as the surface of a sheet of water will reflect back the 
splendor of the sun, so the features of the lawgiver were 
lit up by the brightness which marks the presence of 
Jehovah, and it was more insufferable to mortal eyes than 
the molten golden glow of the sun itself. There is some- 
thing singularly impressive in his surroundings, and, by 
contrast, in the great change that came over his appearance. 
The loneliness of the somber mountain, tormented by 


CHRIST TRANSFIGURED. 


221 


cruel tempests, and haunted by death, the appropriate 
symbol of sternness, sterility, and gloom, became the 
sacred ground where infinite goodness was displayed, where 
the prolific words of eternal truth were spoken, and where 
the refulgent light of Divine perfection was imparted. 
What a contrast! How different the scene from the 
drama; how dissimilar the uninviting locality and the 
events which have rendered it forever memorable! No- 
where can a comparison be found to match them, save in 
that which surpassed them both in dreariness and radiance 
— namely, the transfiguration of our Lord. A proscribed 
man, contemplating death, burdened with care, seeking, 
apart from the habitations of His fellows and under shadow 
of night, a refuge from the gathering storm, undergoes a 
transformation more wonderful than that which came over 
Moses, even as His circumstances were more cheerless and 
disconsolate than those which environed the lawgiver. 
The face only of the Hebrew leader reflected the luster of 
Heaven’s Majesty; but the entire form, countenance, and 
garments alike of Jesus were saturated and flooded with 
an unearthly brilliancy. In a moment He seems to have 
been converted into a living column of light. Even His 
poor peasant’s raiment seems to have become like bur- 
nished silver, whiter than a virgin’s robe, and more re- 
splendent than coronation vestments of ancient kings. 
In the case of Moses, the “celestial sheen” that dazzled 
others was but the after-glow of a Divine sun-setting — 
the reflection of a glory that had fallen on him from with- 
out. With Jesus it was somewhat different. His trans- 
figuration was not due to external causes. The bright 
cloud that overshadows Hermon, or the spirits of the 
sainted dead who trod its snows cannot satisfactorily 
account for it, as we find that the three disciples were in 
proximity to both, and yet were not affected as Jesus was. 
We cannot, therefore, ascribe the change to either. It 


222 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


must have been due to an inner, native, and pent-up glory 
which could not be restrained, and which, surging like a 
swollen sea, overflowed its physical boundaries, and deluged 
even the habiliments of poverty with its flood. 

You have doubtless observed at times the witness which 
the human countenance bears to the state of the emotions. 
Moral feelings express themselves materially. Joseph 
Cook has called attention to the solar look, and a careful 
induction leads to the conclusion that, it is natural for sin 
to invest the face with shadows, and for righteousness to 
beautify it with light. Hence, notice the difference be- 
tween a laughing, innocent infant and a scowling, guilty 
criminal. The skin of the one is white and transparent, 
the eyes radiant and sparkling, as though suns and stars 
were flashing in the soul, while the skin of the other is 
dark and dusky, and the eyes dull and cold, as though the 
fires had gone out and left the soul like the crater of an 
extinct volcano. If the spiritual in man reveals and 
asserts itself in this way, if virgin-like purity shines with 
the unobtrusive gleam of the pearl, and if the aureole 
around the head of the most saintly is the tribute of im- 
agination to holiness, then we may believe what I have 
ventured to assume — that the outward splendor of Jesus 
on Hermon was due to some mighty upheaval in the 
inner life. This analogy, faint though it may be, shows 
how a spiritual cause may have produced this physical 
result; and if we may measure the magnitude of the cause 
by the grandeur of the result, then it must follow, since 
the highest human virtue has never produced in compari- 
son with the transfiguration more than the glow-worm’s 
luster, that the transfiguration must be attributed to the 
realization of the Divine nature in the consciousness of 
.Jesus. This, I hold, is a legitimate inference, and the 
only satisfactory explanation of the marvelous transition 
we are studying. Accept this view, and the sublime 


OTHER TRAKSFIGURATIOHS. 


223 


transaction becomes reasonably clear, and at a glance we 
are able to perceive the transcendency of the scene on 
Herinon over that of Sinai. Moses comes in personal con- 
tact with the Almighty, and his face catches and reflects 
His glory, as I have seen the Jungfrau bathe her white 
head in the sun’s crimson glow, and then flash and quiver 
like an opalescent diadem. With Jesus it was different. 
The “ fullness of the Godhead,” whatever that may mean, 
dwelt in His mortal nature, and on Hermon broke through 
it, as the inner fires of earth might stream through the 
outer shell and envelop it with intolerable flame, or as 
the colored beauty and fragrant breath pent up and treas- 
ured in the bud of flower burst forth in early summer to 
sweeten the air and adorn the landscape. 

There is nothing identical with this in human expe- 
rience, but there is something similar. Never does the 
physical form of man, however radiant at times it may 
appear, take on the glistening glory of the transfiguration; 
but there are supreme moments in the soul’s history when 
it passes from a lower to a higher state, and when it 
becomes resplendent with lofty thoughts and heavenly 
emotions. Men have their higher moods, when they are 
oblivious to the sway of passion and indifferent to the 
sights and sounds of earth, and when they are consciously 
superior to the glittering meanness of the world in which 
thev live. There are seasons when they tread on clouds 
more gorgeous than any in which the sun was ever 
cradled; they behold visions fairer than art has ever 
painted, and hear melodies sweeter than music has ever 
discoursed. Now the ecstacy of religion, then the intoxi- 
cation of genius, or the delicious delirium of fancy, thrills 
them with scorn of their base, everyday surroundings, 
and cheapens the affairs which ordinarily appeal so po- 
tently to their vulgar ambitions and desires. These are 
the sacred hours when poetry indites her song, when har- 


224 


JESUS THE WOKLD’S SAVIOK. 


mony chants her anthem, when art outlines her picture or 
her marble, and when piety prophesies of Heaven, and 
when are born those fair and grand ideals which human 
skill falls short of executing, and which no amount of 
cultured care and loving labor can ever actualize. Fit- 
tingly may such exalted experiences be regarded as the 
soul’s transfiguration; for, like the transfiguration of our 
Lord, they reveal a nature mysteriously, unexplorably and 
almost infinitely great. Such an elevation is sometimes 
touched in that spiritual transition known commonly as 
conversion. When the depth of personal depravity and 
guilt has been sounded, and when, in answer to the ear- 
nest cry for mercy, the consciousness of Divine forgiveness 
is enjoyed, the sinner often feels himself capable of devo- 
tion, sacrifice and heroism, such as in previous mental 
states he never realized, and rises to visions of a land 
whose fadeless and matchless glories eye cannot compass 
nor tongue report. I do not say that all who turn from 
their iniquities to Christ attain to this height of blessed- 
ness, neither do I claim that any should rely on rhapsodies 
as evidence of acceptance with God; but I do believe that 
they are possible and, in many instances, actual. 

But perhaps more frequently are they experienced later 
in the Christian career. During sacred seasons of religious 
meditation, when the soul is athirst for God, when it 
ardently searches for Him within and without, and when 
it seems to tread the very confines of the invisible, then 
spiritual powers unrecognized before assert themselves, 
then thought grows luminous and expansive, and then the 
saint thrills with tremulous delight at the sublime possi- 
bilities of existence. There are also moments in real life 
when endeavors are put forth far beyond ordinary strength, 
surpassing likewise in moral dignity all other acts, and 
which, if their sources could be analyzed, would reveal 
a sudden uprising of the better nature. That girl, who 


THE HEROIC IK MAK. 


225 


on the night of the tempest, when wind and wave had 
rendered fatally insecure the giddy trestle-bridge over 
which the approaching train would attempt to traverse, 
crept painfully along the narrow, frail support, with a 
yawning abyss beneath and elemental strife around, that 
she might warn and save the Express then speeding to its 
ruin, must have been under powerful emotion — must have 
reached a degree of exaltation that transformed her from 
a timid maiden into something more than woman. She 
and others who accomplish similar feats in reality enter 
the same domain of lofty and excited feeling which the 
poet and the artist enter when their dream-like ideals flash 
upon them; only their fervid conceptions take shape in 
book or picture, while the image which uplifts itself 
before the hero-soul takes form in deeds — in deeds more 
musical than rhythmic verse, and more vivid than gor- 
geous-colored picture. And thus through life, at various 
periods, these higher moods come over us when, with Paul, 
we hardly know whether we are in the body, or out of the 
body; and in the hour of death many a saint has expe- 
rienced them more fully than ever, and has thought him- 
self out of the body while yet in the body. Then the 
grander, diviner nature comes to the forefront of con- 
sciousness, and its mighty pinions, which never more than 
fluttered in the past, are felt to be outspread and uplifting 
the immortal spirit far above the malarial fogs of earth 
and the prison-house of time. 

When Jesus was transfigured He held communion with 
the departed. Moses and Elijah appeared in company 
with Him on Mount Hermon; the one, according to a fa- 
vorite idea of the commentators, representing the Law, 
the other the Prophets; the one recalling the foundation 
of Israel as a commonwealth, the other its reformation. 
Most likely they came from the unseen to bear testimony 
to our Lord’s Messiahship, especially to honor Him in 


226 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


the presence of His disciples as the Being promised whose 
coming should inaugurate a new era. This tribute was of 
grave moment just at that crisis, when the hearts of His 
followers were failing them for fear, and when gloomy 
disappointment was mastering their faith. It has an 
equal value, though in a different direction, for us. We 
are not inclined to question the dignity of Jesus, or to 
reject His office-work on account of the humiliating cir- 
cumstances of His life; and therefore we could easily dis- 
pense with this supernatural visitation; but we are in 
this materialistic age sadly tortured with doubts regard- 
ing the future, and the return of any soul from its invisible 
domain cannot fail to do us good. Moses and Elijah came 
back, and ‘‘trailing clouds of glory” did they come; and 
as we trace their spirit-forms we feel more assured of 
man’s immortality. Their existence after death becomes 
to us a pledge of our own, and their manifestation at a time 
so momentous in the history of the early Church would 
seem to indicate that the conscious dead are not as far from 
the conscious living as we generally suppose. May there 
not be solemn seasons in the progress of souls on earth, 
when souls from Heaven may disclose to their spiritual 
vision some gleams of the radiant hereafter, or by im- 
pressions and gentle whisperings soothe their sorrows and 
strengthen them against misfortune ? I have sometimes 
felt in the stillness of the night, in mountain solitude and 
on lonely ocean, that angel-robes were rustling near me, 
and that spirit-feet were glistening in the dew, and tread- 
ing the liquid fields; and I have looked into the silvery 
obscurity — and who has not done the same? — hoping to 
see revealed some dear long-since vanished face, which, 
though it came not, seemed to beam upon me with un- 
speakable tenderness. This is not Spiritism, unless the 
transfiguration is. I am as far from believing as any of 
my brethren that the dead are to be invoked, or that they 


NEARKESS OF HEAVER-. 


227 


will obey the demands of idle curiosity, or will exhibit 
themselves to the eyes of those who are seeking to gratify 
their vulgar love of the marvelous. But why we should 
feel compelled to deny the possibility of intercourse be- 
tween this world and the next, because it has been per- 
verted by superstition, I never could understand. There 
is no good reason for such denial; and it would be cer- 
tainly unwise to dogmatize with the shadows of Moses 
and Elijah falling on the snows of Hermon. But, whether 
their appearance warrants the belief that others may return 
in seasons of distress to help the living, one thing is cer- 
tain, that the soul in its transfiguration state, in its exalted 
and ecstatic moods, peoples the scene with the heroes and 
saints of former ages. At such times we commune with 
the glorious spirits of the past. They come to us and 
hold high discourse on themes that minister to delight, 
and enchant us with the marvels of their thought. Com- 
manded by imagination, memory invokes them, and, 
though they emerge from the shadowy region of the soul 
and not from the invisible realm, and though they are the 
creatures of fancy and not of reality, they are to us as 
living presences whose sacred ministry tends to calm our 
restlessness and to subdue our passions. 

The evangelist informs us that Jesus and His mysterious 
visitants talked together of His decease. This was doubt- 
less to remind the apostles that His death was to be some- 
thing exceptional in the history of mortality. And if we 
may believe the Scriptures it was certainly more signifi- 
cant and more wondrously fruitful in results than any 
other on which the light has ever fallen. It is represented 
as being in some vital sense necessary for salvation — an 
expiation, an atonement, an expression of infinite love to 
fallen man. To hear these sacred personages converse on 
such a theme ought to have satisfied the listening disciples 
that the death they dreaded in no wise weakened the 


228 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


Lord’s claim to be the world’s Messiah, and should have 
prepared them for the inevitable. Why it did not I shall 
not pause to answer, even if an adequate answer could be 
given. But what is more to my purpose, let me call 
attention to the resemblance that exists between this por- 
tion of the memorable transaction we are considering and 
one peculiar phase of the soul’s experience in its hours of 
transport. From what I have read, and from what I 
have felt, I am persuaded that in our grandest moods we 
instinctively find a place for death in our thoughts. When 
we are filled with a strange light, and the orchestra of our 
being breaks forth into soothing or exciting harmony, we 
not only commune with the departed, but we likewise 
think of ourselves as dying, and of that change through 
which all mortals pass in attaining the blessings of immor- 
tality. I question whether anyone ever tasted this full- 
ness of life without instantaneously invoking the image of 
death. But why should it be associated with our most 
pleasurable emotions ? Why should it haunt us with its 
pale face when our nobler self asserts its sovereignty? 
This is my answer: The thoughts and feelings which mark 
the soul’s transfiguration belong to Heaven more than 
earth, find there their fitting soil, their native skies, and 
flourish in perennial glory there, while here they are 
ephemeral and vanishing; and it is, therefore, no more 
than natural that they should incline us toward that grim 
messenger on whose faithfulness they depend for ultimate 
perfection. Nay more, in reality, death is not the horrible 
monster which the imagination under the trembling weak- 
ness of the body paints it. An angel of light it rather is, 
though to the dull sense it is robed in darkness. When, 
therefore, the mind is in exalted frame, and when the 
spiritual vision has been clarified, its true character is dis- 
cerned, fear is taken away, and its embrace would then 
be welcomed; and perhaps these gracious glimpses are 


ECSTASY KOT PEKMAKENT. 


229 


permitted to prepare us for the messenger when he comes, 
and to remind us in that solemn hour of the glorious king- 
dom just beyond to which he is the forbidding guide. 

I have already intimated that this transfiguration is 
evanescent. I repeat it. More than once in the course of 
human life it may be enjoyed, though perhaps never twice 
in the same degree, but in the nature of things it never 
can be a permanent condition. The flesh could not endure 
the strain, and the mind itself would ultimately give way 
beneath such excitation were it prolonged indefinitely, or 
were it to recur too frequently. Moreover it would tend to 
unfit both head and heart for practical concern in secular 
and religious work. We know already that they who live 
in ordinary dreamland, who give themselves to reverie, 
and, much more, those influenced to a high degree by po- 
etic fancy, are generally impracticable, and with great 
difficulty bring themselves down to the level of sober, and 
commonplace affairs. How then would it be, were we to 
live perpetually on the mount, enchanted by its glory, and 
bathed in its holy light? Alas! we would be apt to say 
as did the disciples on Hermon, “ It is good for us to be 
here; let us build three tabernacles.” There would they 
have willingly remained, heedless of the suffering not far 
from them; and, lost in their own enjoyment, they would 
have neglected the world crying piteously for help in the 
dark places beyond. Raphael, in his celebrated picture of 
Christ’s transfiguration, represents two separate incidents: 
the calm majesty of the sacred figures, standing in the 
golden light of Paradise, fills the upper portion of the 
masterpiece, while below, and in striking contrast, the 
excited throng of people gathered near the possessed lad is 
sadly and strongly depicted. Here we have the extremes 
of blessedness and wretchedness, of repose and restless- 
ness, of joy and sorrow; and the artist in combining them 
on one canvas would doubtless teach what the example of 
13 


230 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


our Lord, who went immediately from the mountain to a 
work of practical philanthropy, also teaches, that in our 
supreme moments of almost celestial happiness we should 
not forget the suffering millions who lie moaning at our 
doors; and that, if we would care for them, we must leave 
our exalted moods and come down to them in the spirit of 
helpful sympathy. F rom all of which let us learn that, while 
these high and sweet experiences are to be sought and 
coveted, we should neither grow morbid nor discouraged 
when they cease; but from them should gather inspiration 
for the discharge of that healing ministry to which we 
have been called by Christ. 

One final thought. We naturally ask, How is this soul- 
transfiguration to be attained? The scene on Hermon 
furnishes an answer. You remember that the disciples 
were anxious to build tabernacles to Moses and Elijah, as 
well as to Jesus. But as they spake the prophet and the 
lawgiver vanished from their eyes, and they beheld “Jesus 
only,” while a Divine voice exclaimed, “This is my beloved 
Son, hear ye Him.” All this was significant. It indi- 
cated in the clearest manner the exclusive supremacy of 
Jesus in everything pertaining to religion. He stands 
alone, the sole and only Savior, toward whose efficacious 
mediation the grandest saints can add nothing either of 
counsel or of merit. To Him, therefore, and to Him alone, 
must we look for eternal life, and through Him must we 
strive for Heaven. So it also follows that faith in Him 
is the source of our divinest transports, and that He it is, 
dwelling in us the hope of glory, who unseals our eyes to 
see the wondrous things of His kingdom, and who dis- 
closes to our consciousness the marvelous splendors of our 
immortal nature. But faith is not the sole prerequisite to 
this gracious boon. The selfish, the wordly-minded never 
obtain it. We never have heard of those who are 
self-seeking, proud, vain and arrogant, doubting as to 


CHRIST LIVETH IK US. 


231 


whether they are in the body or out of the body, or ever 
feeling what I have so inadequately described. They 
may be Christians, but, being of the formal sort, they are 
strangers to the deeper and sweeter experiences of reli- 
gion. These are conditioned on self-abnegation, and on 
that cross-bearing spirit of which the Master spoke just 
before He sought the mountain’s solitude. We must be 
emptied of self, must realize our nothingness, be swal- 
lowed up and lost in Christ, if we would ascend the sun- 
lit ranges. There is an Eastern fable given by Hunt from 
Jelaleddin which beautifully expresses this idea. ‘‘One 
knocked at the Beloved’s door; and a voice asked from 
within, ‘Who is there?’ And he answered, ‘It is L’ 
Then the voice said, ‘This house will not hold me and 
thee.’ And the door was not opened. Then went the 
lover into the desert, and fasted and prayed in solitude. 
And after a year he returned and knocked again at the 
door. And again the voice asked, ‘Who is there?’ And 
he said, ^ It is thyself And the door was opened to 
him.” Thus may we go to Christ, proudly saying, “Let 
me into thy favor; it is A” He will not, however, open 
unto us. But if we overcome this haughty spirit, and if 
we make Him the foundation of our hope, and if we sub- 
mit our will to His, so that we have no will of our own, 
and if we can exclaim with Paul, “ I live, yet not I, it is 
Christ that liveth in me,” then when we appeal for en- 
trance we shall say, “It is Thyself; ” and, hearing this. He 
will not only open wide the doors, but He will lead us to 
that high throne in the palace of his love where coronation 
robes await the soul, and where it shall be in some solemn 
hour transfigured, as it shall be finally in the Paradise 
above. 


XVI. 

THE TEXDEEXESS OF JESUS. 

He beheld the city, and wept over it . — Luke xixj 41. 


HERE is no city in the world to which devout people 



JL turn with so much of interest and with such deep 
emotions as to Jerusalem. The antiquity of its origin, 
almost venerable enough to be mythical; the course of its 
history, sufficiently religious to be sacred; and the multi- 
plicity and variety of its misfortunes, sufficiently tragical 
to be appalling, arouse serious reflections, kindle pathetic 
fancies, and inspire profound awe. There doubtless was 
the earliest Salem founded; there probably the mystical 
Melchizedek worshipped; there the Jebusites held sway and 
intrenched themselves against the armies of Israel; there 
Abraham prepared to offer up his son; there Solomon 
reared the temple of the living God; there Babylon pur- 
sued its ruthless conquests; there Persia performed the 
good Samaritan’s healing work; there Alexander rendered 
homage to the supremacy of Jehovah; there Egypt asserted 
its hated rule; there Antiochus slaughtered the people; 
there Pompey triumphed; there Crassus plundered; and 
there Herod tyrannized. But these are not the events 
which most powerfully affect the imagination and the sen- 
sibilities when we meditate on Jerusalem. They exert, it 
is true, a certain degree of influence; but it is the thought 
that Jesus of Nazareth was borne as a babe to its majestic 
temple, disputed as a boy in its rabbinical schools, wrought 
His mighty deeds and spoke His mightier words in its 
streets, mingled familiarly with its throngs, rebuked sternly 

232 


THE SAVIOK IK TEARS. 


233 


its haughty officials, suffered many indignities at its hands, 
and yet wept compassionately over its sins and sorrows, 
that appeals so irresistibly to head and heart. 

When our Lord said to the daughters of this venerable 
city, as they accompanied Him with streaming eyes to the 
place of crucifixion, ‘‘Weep not for me, but weep for 
yourselves,” He revealed the real fountain of that grief 
which tinged and shaded His ministry on earth. Not for 
Himself did “the Man of Sorrows” shed a single tear. 
Never did He bewail His own sufferings and trials. “He 
was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His 
mouth;” and if “His visage was so marred more than any 
man,” it was not on His own account, but on account of 
others. Sympathy with the woes of those around Him 
filled His soul, and excluded every selfish consideration 
and feeling. That He should be thus disinterestedly 
tender was foretold by the prophets, and that their predic- 
tions were fulfilled we have abundant evidence in the 
Gospels. There He is represented as weeping at the grave 
of Lazarus, as taking upon Himself the cares of the family 
at Bethany, and as doing all that love could suggest or 
Divine power accomplish to heal its wounds. There we find 
Him manifesting the deepest concern for the future of His 
tempest-tossed disciples. He seeks to reclaim Peter by 
the compassionate reproach which He concentrates in a 
look; He tries to encourage the drooping spirits of His 
followers by the promise of the Comforter on earth and of 
many mansions in Heaven; and His heart goes out in 
sweet solicitude for His mother, even when He hangs wear- 
ily on the cross and the shadows of death are thickening 
about Him. While these instances fairly illustrate the 
character and the extent of His tenderness, there is one 
other which, to my mind, does so with equal distinct- 
ness and impressiveness. I allude to the exhibition of it 
recorded in the text. It is no more than could be reason- 


234 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


ably expected that He should sympathize with the anguish 
and anxieties of His personal friends, His disciples and 
His mother, however exceptional may have been His 
entire oblivion to His own burdens; but that He should 
weep so publicly, and apparently so involuntarily, over 
Jerusalem, with the mass of whose people He could not 
have had very familiar intercourse, and with whose tastes, 
habits, and pursuits He had hardly anything in common, 
places this grace in a diviner light, and reminds us of what 
is diviner still — that He thus feels for the race at large. 

There is something in all great cities that impresses the 
mind with indescribable melancholy. The experiences of 
De Quincey on entering London for the first time have been 
shared by persons whose susceptibilities were less acute 
than his. He says, ‘‘ there one feels like a single wave 
in a total Atlantic — like one plant in a forest of America.” 
He adds that ‘‘ no loneliness can be like that which weighs 
upon the heart in the center of faces never ending, with- 
out voice or utterance for him, and among hurrying figures 
of men weaving to and fro, seeming like a mask of mani- 
acs or a pageant of phantoms.” But it is not alone this 
sense of isolation that produces the undefinable melan- 
choly which seizes on us on entering these huge centers of 
human life. There blend with it thoughts of the toil and 
peril, the cares and disappointments, the hopeless hopeful- 
ness and the cheerless cheerfulness of the vast throngs that 
swirl around us and sweep by us, like maddened waters, 
eddying fiercely and then hastening to the quiet of an ocean 
grave. A city is made up of extremes and exaggerations. 
There we confront the extremes of affluence and poverty, 
of learning and of ignorance, of civilization and barba- 
rism, as they are met nowhere else; and there we find folly 
and fashion, mirth and amusement, crime and oppression 
on an enlarged scale, overgrown and overwhelmingly gigan- 
tic. Their proportions are so excessive as to become vague; 


ALOKE IK THE CROWD. 


235 


and the imagination is stimulated by the huge mystery 
that hangs around everything, and so intensifies the vari- 
ous features of the scene that they are rendered sadder and 
more forbidding. Never can I forget the feelings I experi- 
enced when, after years of absence, I returned to London, 
and from the upper windows of the lofty Charing Cross 
Hotel looked over the city at night. It was late, and little 
could be seen but the spectral outlines of buildings and 
the twinkle and flicker of innumerable lights. But the 
air was heavy with what seemed to be a suppressed groan, 
an unending sigh, as though the heart of the great me- 
tropolis was burdened beyond endurance, and was wailing 
to the darkness the story of its anguish. The sound was 
like the muffled monotonous moaning of the ocean after 
the fury of the tempest is spent, and the tormented bil- 
lows are vainly seeking repose. It was like the dirge of 
the wind, sweeping through the pine forests, and lament- 
ing the departure of summer. Throughout the night it 
seemed to continue, and, though during the day it was 
drowned in the roar and crash of commerce, its echo still 
lingered, and with the return of evening it distinctly rose 
again. When I heard it, tears came unbidden to my eyes. 
I stood mute and appalled as in the presence of some un- 
paralleled grief, and as expecting to see emerging from the 
surrounding gloom some gigantic form, whose furrowed 
brow and sunken cheeks would add to the solemnity of the 
hour. Such feelings cannot be entirely strange to anyone 
who has in solitude and at night entered a great city. 
They are not, however, frequently indulged in the day, or 
when surrounded by rejoicing friends. Sunlight and 
pleasant company are not favorable to them; and it, there- 
fore, marks their unusual intensity in Jesus, when as He 
approaches Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, bathed in 
the brightness of an eastern morning and encompassed 


236 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


by loving friends, that He should at the sight of its gleam- 
ing towers give way to tears. 

This expression of our Lord’s tenderness I desire to con- 
sider, that His amiability may be duly recognized, and 
that an important but neglected Christian duty may be 
illustrated. In confining my reflections to the instance 
before us, I do not mean to intimate that He fails to sym- 
pathize with individuals and the race. We all know that 
it is far otherwise. But time would not serve to look at 
the subject in all of its bearings; and, therefore, for this 
reason, and for others that will appear, I prefer to view it 
exclusively in connection with those growing and busy 
communities whose moral and social condition is exciting 
in our day most serious solicitude. 

Undoubtedly the wickedness of Jerusalem aroused our 
Lord’s commiseration. His indictment against the city is 
terrible. He accuses it of cruelty, ingratitude, and insin- 
cerity. These are grave charges; but that they were well 
founded no one can truthfully deny. For pretense long 
prayers were made; intolerable burdens were imposed on 
the poor, and prophets and deliverers were crucified and 
stoned. Alas! Jerusalem in these and other respects is 
only a too faithful picture of what every great community 
has been from the time when the red hands of a murderer 
laid the foundations of the first city that was ever built. 
They have all been hotbeds of vice, the abodes of villainy, 
the refuges of crime, and the foul lair of every kind of 
human beast. When I speak thus I am not unmindful of 
their glorious achievements and of their deserved renown. 
To them art, science, literature, and even religion are in- 
debted beyond the possibility of calculation. What the 
world owes Athens, Rome, Alexandria, Paris, and London, 
perhaps can never be adequately estimated. Obliterate 
what the first contributed to the refinement and culture of 
all ages, and what the others contributed to their govern- 


THE GOOD AJfD EVIL OE CITIES. 


237 


ineiit, enlightenment, affluence, and civilization, and we 
should to-day be in a condition of semi-barbarism. With- 
out in the least depreciating the value of the country, and 
recognizing the fact that it has rendered invaluable services 
to the cause of human progress, it must still be confessed 
that in aggressive leadership, and in far-sighted and ex- 
pansive enterprise it has never approached either ancient 
or modern cities. Nor is it unnatural that this should 
be the case. In rural districts, in quiet villages, the stim- 
ulus is lacking to gigantic undertakings, and the means for 
their prosecution are absent. But where men congregate 
in vast bodies, and where the competition is intense, 
thought and energy are quickened, and the wealth is 
rapidly accumulated which is indispensable to the cultiva- 
tion of higher education and art. Yet it should not be 
forgotten that the superior advantages of cities become 
the occasion, if not the cause, of their moral deterioration, 
and ultimately of their decline. 

Refinement exposes the people to enervation, and luxury 
to prodigality and dissipation. The struggle for money 
and social distinction begets in multitudes of cases indiffer- 
ence to right; and the ardor of business pursuits creates. a 
thirst for exciting pleasures which are fatal to stern ideas 
of duty. Hence the vigor of degrading amusements in 
cities ancient and modern. Among the former the amphi- 
theater, with its cruel exhibitions, in which blood was shed 
like water; and among the latter, the immodest drama in 
which purity is outraged and trampled in the mire: the 
songs of Anacreon and the orgies of Bacchus in the first; 
and in the other, the obscene doggerel of rhymish nonen- 
tities, and the poison swill in which thousands find drunken 
oblivion. And in them all, the den of the gambler, the 
pandemonium of the prostitute, and the myriad temp- 
tations which allure the unsuspecting to ruin. Other evils 
develop in cities out of the regard, correct in itself, which 


238 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


prevails for due observances of proprieties and for the 
irreproachableness of reputations, which to some extent is 
a man’s capital in trade. Therefrom springs a sad degree 
of insincerity, and every relation of life becomes invested 
with a thin veil of hypocrisy. Hollowness and deceitful- 
ness characterize society, dissembling and double-dealing 
disfigure commerce, and cant, pretension, and downright 
simulation deface and degrade religion. On all sides we 
know not whom to trust, and yet all are sleek, plausible, 
and eminently respectable. Verily, such a spectacle may 
well excite commiseration! No wonder that the Son of 
God wept over a state of things like this in Jerusalem! 
Reason enough undoubtedly for condemnation, and the 
condemnation He did not hesitate to pronounce; but 
greater reason still for tears that man should so defile him- 
self, and should so war against his own glory. Censure 
unquestionably has her place, but pity likewise has hers. 
We may denounce within certain narrow bounds, but our 
grief should be without shore and limit. Well may we 
bewail what we see and hear; for only as we do so will we 
be moved to stretch forth strong and holy hands to help 
and save. Unmitigated severity never begets philanthropy. 
The haughty Pharisee judged without mercy, and wrap- 
ping his garments closely round his sacred person to escape 
pollution, he turned self-complacently away. But Jesus 
of Nazareth wept, and weeping went down into the city 
and sought to gather the people to His grace, as the hen 
gathereth her brood under her protecting wing. And just 
in proportion as we feel like Him, will we imitate His ex- 
ample, and seek at any and every cost to rescue the city 
of our habitation from the foul stain and shame of sin. 

The wretchedness of Jerusalem, as well as its wicked- 
ness, must also have appealed to the Savior’s tender heart. 
Wherever He looked He found unhappiness. The upper 
classes were discontented and embittered, while the lower 


SINS OF THE CITY. 


239 


ones were sullen and hopeless. A foreign yoke galled the 
necks of the people, and a prolonged moan wailed audibly 
through the streets. Life and property were insecure. 
The will of the Idumean tyrant at any moment might 
destroy the first and confiscate the second. Jealousies, 
suspicions, filled the city with alarming rumors and fierce 
debates. Poverty added its horrors, and disease its terrors 
to the scene of misery; and it was further increased by 
repeated acts of violence and crime. Jerusalem is not 
alone in her sorrow. Whoever has studied the histories of 
Babylon, of Athens and of Rome has discovered, back of 
the pageants, processions, games and festivals, a heart 
burdened with care and wrung with anguish. And the 
same is true of modern cities. To a stranger from the 
country what can be more suggestive of pleasure and hap- 
piness than the gay throngs, the glittering saloons, the 
attractive theaters, the stately buildings, and the brilliant 
illuminations of such great centers of population as Lon- 
don, Paris, New York and Chicago? And yet these are 
the abodes of human wretchedness in its worst and most 
appalling forms. There thousands of children, who have 
never known childhood, and who are prematurely old, are 
heartlessly abandoned by other thousands of Christian 
people to starvation, suffering and crime. There young 
girls are systematically betrayed into worse than slavery, 
and their happiness oftentimes blighted by those who 
should be their protectors. It is an open secret that 
female virtue is not safe even in some reputable establish- 
ments, and that the perils which environ it are numerous 
and varied. The misery springing from this source is 
incalculable. Intemperance also increases the general 
woe. This malediction multiplies its victims wherever 
tumultuous crowds assemble, whether on the Thames, the 
Hudson, or the Lakes. And for every red-nosed, swollen- 
eyed, thick-tongued, staggexing, maudlin creature there are 


240 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


homes he has impoverished, hearts he has broken, and 
lives he has rendered unspeakably forlorn and discon- 
solate. No tyrant that ever ruled Jerusalem — not even 
the worst of the Herods — ever caused so many unoffend- 
ing people to suffer as drunkenness. The atrocities of 
the Roman Nero and Caligula pale before its ruthless 
ravages and monstrous iniquities. It tramples on the 
loving heart of motherhood, tortures the sensibilities of 
wifehood, and, like another Herod, slaughters the inno- 
cents, only with a devilish ingenuity and malignity to 
which that infamous monarch was a stranger. Poverty, 
likewise, is more dense and dire in cities than elsewhere, 
and spreads its somber, leaden clouds over the sky of hope 
and peace. It breeds fretfulness and discontent, strife and 
wrangling, bitterness and despair, squalor and shame. The 
physical pangs it inflicts are not merely the extremes of 
hunger, nakedness and exposure, but, in addition, the lan- 
guor, the feebleness, the lassitude engendered by unwhole- 
some and innutritious diet and insufficient protection from 
the weather’s violence. Nor are the affluent or the well- 
to-do in a state of absolute felicity. Living in communi- 
ties where the greed for gain is never satisfied, where the 
freebooter’s maxim, everything lawful to win success, pre- 
vails, constant apprehension, uncertainty, restlessness and 
nervousness necessarily follow. And thus among all ranks 
and conditions of society wretchedness holds its gloomy 
court. The men and women that jostle each other on the 
street, who smile so pleasantly and chat so lightly, and who 
seem to skim with bird-like wing so joyfully from fragrant 
bush to fruitful tree, have somewhere hidden in their soul 
a grave, whose sleeping tenant, be it a secret sin or name- 
less grief, they fear will one day rise ghastly and grim to 
drown with its mocking voice their simulated happiness. 

Jesus wept ! He saw through the shams and compli- 
cated disguises by which Jerusalem tried to veil its sor^ 


SIN" THE CAUSE OF SORROW. 


241 


row, and He wept. Its anguish He felt more keenly than 
His own. But He knew that tears alone, even from a 
fount as holy as His heart, would not, and could not abate 
a grief so widespread; for they could not eradicate its 
cause. Who can hope by rains to dry up the Mississippi’s 
mighty volume of waters ? The floods of Heaven only 
increase the floods of earth ; and weeping only increases 
weeping. The majestic river I have named that sweeps 
through so many states and at times overflows its banks, 
carrying misery to multitudes of homes, has its source 
embosomed in obscurity and must there be checked, if 
arrested at all. So the human sorrow that deluges the 
sunny plains and desolates the fruitful fields can be traced 
to one source — sin. Follow it backward along its tortu- 
ous windings and you will find it originating in trans- 
gression; and the only way to stay its course is to dry up 
its spring. This Jesus realized. He was no mere re- 
former, no levee-builder, no constructor of earthen works 
to channel anguish and keep it within due bounds. He 
knew the fatuity of such measures. The reform of social 
evils might do something toward the relief of human woe ; 
but He acted on the principle that, if sin could be sub- 
dued, the woe and the evil would both be cured. Hence, 
while He wept He labored. He stands not weeping on 
Olivet’s hill, but goes down into the city, calls the people 
to repentance, preaches to them heart-renewal, and invites 
them to rest in Him and live. Similar must be our course 
if our cities are ever to be the habitations of peace and 
sweet content. Picture-galleries, art-museums, libraries, 
and clubs are all useful in their place ; but Chicago, like 
Jerusalem, needs the Gospel — the Gospel carried to every 
home and pressed on every conscience, more than these. 
Heine tells us that when sick he entered the Louvre and 
sat at the feet of Venus of Milo. He remarks that she ap- 
peared to sympathize with him, but that she also seemed 


242 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


to say, “You see I have no arms, I cannot help you.” 
And Art, like this supreme triumph of art, is impotent to 
morally renovate and cleanse. Something is needed that 
not only has arms, but a heart as well, to succor the trans- 
gressor, and to lift him out of his pollution and despair. 
The eternal truth of God, preached by a church in 
earnest is worth more to the cause of social salvation than 
all the works of Phidias or the creations of Mozart. But 
whatever means are employed, it will certainly avail noth- 
ing to wring one’s hands and bewail the deplorable condi- 
tion of things, as though sighs and groans could drive 
away the enemy which has fastened like a vampire on the 
life of society. Believe me, it is cheap sympathy to be- 
moan the sorrows of the city while nothing practical is 
done to heal them. If we would alleviate them we must 
leave our high places, where we mourn at ease and possi- 
bly take great credit to ourselves for doing so, and grap- 
ple with the sin, and seek through the might of the Gos- 
pel to effect its final overthrow. 

But Jerusalem was not only wicked and wretched, it 
was willful; and its willfulness evidently increased our 
Lord’s commiseration. Hear his own pathetic words: 
“ How often would I have gathered thy children ^ ^ * 

and ye would not. If thou hadst known, even thou, at 
least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy 
peace ! but now they are hid from thine eyes.” O Jerusa- 
lem ! thou wouldst not, is the burden of His lamentation. 
She who had stoned the prophets, and who had pursued a 
headstrong, rebellious course, was obstinately blind to her 
opportunity, and remained self-willed to the last. He was 
moved to tears; for He foresaw where this would end. 
The future was unlocked and opened to His saddened 
eyes, and, oblivious to His own surroundings, He saw the 
tragic situation of the city in the coming years and its 
cloudy destiny. The dark frontiers of a desert stormy 


THE FALL OF AKCIEKT CITIES. 


243 


land rose vaguely on His vision through the mists of time, 
and He beheld the “haughty city with its thousand tow- 
ers,” swept as it were by the breath of the sirocco and 
buried in the scorching sands. From this dreary doom it 
might have been saved, but it would not. The stubbornness 
that rejected Christ seemed to drive Jerusalem from one 
blunder to another; until, having brought upon itself the 
great siege, parties arose, each led by stubborn zealots 
intent on executing his own designs, and willfulness be- 
came a mania, terminating in exterminating desolation. 
As fell Jerusalem so fell the other great cities of the past 
whose ruins and the records of whose achievements alone 
survive to attest their ancient splendor. They perversely 
rejected their advantages, were indifferent to their perils, 
and persistently drove madly to their overthrow. Remem- 
ber the fall of Babylon. Haughty presumption, leading 
to revelry, removed the obstructions from the path of in- 
vading Persia. Read the accounts of Athenian decline, 
and take as a commentary the orations of Demosthenes. 
What do you learn? Is it not that self-will proved the 
ruin of that famous people? They would not believe 
that Philip cherished hostile intentions toward them, and 
even closed their eyes to the multiplied evidences of his 
enmity, and thus stupidly betrayed themselves. And 
thus, likewise, did Rome destroy itself; and thus every city 
that has passed away wrought its own overthrow; and 
thus the destiny of those that survive will be decided by 
themselves. Should we not weep, then, when we find 
them intent on rejecting Christ, recklessly putting away 
from them that which renews the moral foundations of 
society, heals its sorrows, and so ministers to its security ? 
To His tears Christ added remonstrances and warnings; 
but there His power ended. He could do no more. Vir- 
tue, faith, cannot be coerced. Whosoever, communities 
or men, would live nobly must choose freely. We may 


244 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


exhort, rebuke, warn, and we should do so tenderly, lov- 
ingly. We should also point out the path of safety and 
try to win our fellow-citizens to it. But here our respon- 
sibility and our ability cease. We cannot cope with un- 
reasoning, arrogant, and scornful willfulness. When that 
doggedly and stubbornly plants itself in the path of 
Mercy and impedes her progress, tears and sympathy, 
and heartrending anguish are all in vain. 

O City of the Lakes! * thou wondrous creation of a few 
fleeting years, whose name is already famous throughout 
the earth for indomitable energy and resistless enterprise, 
thy Savior weeps over thee as He wept over Jerusalem. 
He knows thy sorrows and thy sins, and He would heal 
the one and save thee from the other. He would have thee 
a city as royal in purity and integrity as in commercial 
vigor and activity. Hence, He calls on thee ‘‘now, in the 
days of thy youth,” to accept the Gospel, to sanctify the 
Sabbath, and renew the heart. He would have thee realize 
that now is thine opportunity. W'hat thou dost make 
thyself to-day, thou shalt be, and must be, hereafter. 
This is thy formative period; thou art now taking on thy- 
self an enduring character. In a few more years it will 
be fixed irreversibly; and thou wilt be for all time to come 
either Atheistic or Godly, Infidel or Christian. Which ? 
That is the solemn issue thou alone canst decide. He lin- 
gers yet to hear thy decision; still does He plead with 
thee, knocking at thy doors, O city! by every sermon that 
is preached, by every Christian deed performed. A little 
while He lingers at thy threshhold, pleads that He may 
enter in and dwell with thee, and offers thee that which 
can make thee the joy and beauty of the earth. Turn 
not, I pray thee, a deaf ear to His entreaties, say not, as 
did Jerusalem of old, “His blood be on us and on our 
children ; ” for then will He turn from thee, and leave thee 
* Chicago, where this discourse was spoken. 


MERCY PLEADING. 


245 


with His blood-marks on thee, to thy brief career of inglo- 
rious worldliness and ignoble prosperity. 

“ But all night long that voice spoke urgently: 

‘ Open to me.’ 

Still harping in mine ears : 

‘ Rise ; let me in.’ 

Pleading with tears : 

‘ Open to me that may I come to thee.’ 

While the dew dropped; while the dark hours were cold: 

‘ My feet bleed ; see my face ; 

See my hands bleed that bring thee grace. 

My heart bleeds for thee. 

Open to me.’ 

So till the break of day, 

Then died away 

That voice in silence, as of sorrow. 

Then footsteps echoing like a sigh 
Passed me by — 

Lingering footsteps, slow to pass. 

On the morrow 
I saw upon the grass 

Each footprint marked in blood; and on my door 
The mark of blood forevermore.” 

14 


XYII. 


THE TEUTH-SPIEIT OF JESUS. 

“When the Spirit of Truth is come, He will guide you into all 
truth.” — John xvi, 13. 

J^OBERT BROWNING writes,— 

“ Truth is truth in each degree, 

Thunder-pealed by God to nature, whispered by my soul to me.” 

But there are degrees disclosed through another method b}” 
the Author and Source of Light. The Comforter is to guide 
into all — not into partial, but into “ all truth ” ; and hence 
He is called the Comforter, for man can never be perma- 
nently helped by a lie, however venerable, or by an illusion, 
however beautiful and poetic. It is this sublime function, 
also, that renders the mystery of the Trinity credible, and 
that disposes untold multitudes of devout souls to confess 
with Athanasius: “ Ut unum Deum in Trinitate, et Trinita- 
tem in Unitate vereremur.,’^ for only God Himself can com- 
pass the shoreless boundaries of the “ all truth” and impart 
of its fullness to His creatures. 

The Great Teacher, whose lips never slandered, charac- 
terized the author of evil as a liar and the father of lies, and 
in doing so implied that deceit and falsehood are responsible 
for the malignity, mischief and misery that have darkened 
the earth. “Thou shalt not surely die ” was the primary 
glittering illusion which betrayed our progenitors into wrong- 
doing and death ; and similar beguiling fabrications have 
fostered vice and crime, have disturbed the peace of families, 

246 


MISSION OF THE COMFORTER. 247 

and have cursed society with endless cheats and counter- 
feits. So it has come to pass that subservience to untruth, 
or conscious toleration of anything approaching to untruth, 
is inconsistent with the Divine image in the soul, while 
absolute unveraciousness is synonymous with spiritual 
death. 

To deliver mankind from such thraldom is the preordained 
mission of the Holy Spirit, whom Christ prayed the Father 
to send, and who has come to abide forever with His peo- 
ple. {John XIV, 16,17.) In pondering our Lord’s promise, 
fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, and being continuous!}' 
fulfilled, it should not be overlooked that the spiritual com- 
munity received the Comforter at the beginning, and that 
still, mainly if not exclusively, His gracious ministry is car- 
ried on among its members and through their instrumentality. 
Cardinal Newman, in his earlier years, was not far wrong 
when he eloquently maintained the teaching vocation of the 
Church. To the Church unquestionably at the first the faith 
was committed, and in her through all the ages the illumin- 
ing Spirit has dwelt — His presence and inspiration being 
indeed absolutely indispensable to her standing as a Church 
— that she might be taught of God and in her turn be able 
to teach the world. But beyond Dr. Newman’s primary 
premise we cannot go with him. He argues from a Church 
empowered to instruct mankind to the authority of councils, 
to a priesthood practically inerrant, and to infallible pontiffs. 
Such conclusions Protestants must challenge. To the con- 
trary, they will argue from the same postulate, that instead 
of councils there ought to be schools of sacred learning, 
instead of priesthoods an open Bible, and instead of Popes 
the Divine and unerring Comforter to guide preachers and 
people alike in the interpretation of the spiritual universe. 

In the furtherance of this sublime mission the Truth-Spirit 
creates in the Church the passion for truth. And there is 
need for it in such a world as this. Near Buzzard’s Bay, in 


248 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


Massachusetts, there grows a weed called “tussock,” — a 
term declared obsolete by the dictionary, though, unhappily, 
the thing itself is not obsolete in the fields. It is the peculi- 
arity of this worthless plant that its roots are incomparably 
more extensive than its leaves, and that it unfits the soil for 
more wholesome seeds. Error in the mind is not unlike this 
idle and pestiferous tussock. Once it has secured a hold, it 
clings with the tenacity of despair, and chokes everv other 
growth ; and it does seem to get this hold on every unregen- 
erate creature. The Bible speaks of the vast heathen world 
“ that changed the truth of God into a lie,” and of those 
“who believed a lie that they might be damned.” And 
I do not misrepresent the race when I affirm that it has an 
affinity for deceptions, and follows greedily after phantoms. 
Not a few persons, while insisting on the value of veracity, 
seem incapable of appreciating the worth of correct and 
accurate beliefs in religion. Some individuals even go so 
far as to deny the possibility of knowing anything regarding 
the origin, the order, or the outcome of the universe. Others 
have come to exalt liberality above conviction ; and to be 
tolerant of all opinions, however erroneous, is more loudly 
applauded in our day than is the conscientious 103’alty of 
those who cannot bring themselves to call black white or 
wrong right. The Agnostic declares that we cannot know, 
and the apathetic crowd smiles sadly or inanely, and ex- 
claims, “We really do not care to know ! ” And Renan 
gives almost poetic expression to this indifference, and recon- 
ciles us in no small degree to the poison of his speech by its 
exquisite beauty. He wrote not long before his death : 
“ Nothing is to be gained by importuning truth, by solicit- 
ing her day by day. She is deaf and cold ; our ardent cries 
do not reach her.” . . . “ The new philosophy ! The newer 
philosophy ! The newest philosophy ! Mon Dieu ! why 
should we dispute about the priority of error? Learn to 
wait ! Perhaps there is nothing at the end. Or who knows 


THE GREAT PASSION. 


249 


if perchance the truth be not sad? Do not let us be in such 
a hurry to know it.” As we muse on the French Orientalist’s 
despair, the lines from Tennyson return to us : — 

“ We had read their know-nothing books and we lean’d to the darker 
side — 

Ah God, should we find Him, perhaps, perhaps, if we died, if we 
died? 

Why should we bear with an hour of torture, a moment of pain. 

If every man die forever, if all his griefs are in vain? ” 

Alas ! alas ! for the tussock weed in the soul. Where shall 
the plow be found to lacerate the roots, and to upturn the 
plant to the death-dealing power of light? Already has the 
question been answered. Only the Comforter can do this 
work, can comfort the heart with healing wounds and enrich 
it by emptying its fields of impoverishing growths. John 
(i John v, 6)^ referring to Him, writes, “The Spirit is 
truth,” just as he also declares, “ God is love.” Veracious- 
ness is the very essence of His being ; and as like produces 
like, as aroma imparts aroma, and as fire communicates heat, 
so He Who is essentially Truth calls forth truthfulness wher- 
ever His influences are experienced. Paul, speaking for other 
Christians as well as for himself, says, “We can do nothing 
against the truth, but for the truth ” ; and it is also affirmed 
of them that they have been made free by the truth, and that 
they have come to the knowledge of the truth. What other 
language is necessary to portray the beginnings and the 
reality of a passion that comes to dominate the entire being? 
This passion is the distinctive glory of the Church of Christ. 
Whatever she has wrought, whatever doctrine she has pro- 
claimed, has been inspired and undertaken through this insa- 
tiable love of truth. She has, unhappily, been split into de- 
nominations ; but even this evil has been measurably atoned 
for by the consideration that each sect has been striving to 
the utmost to avoid heresy. A divided Christendom is proof 


250 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


of the importance which the children of God attach to intel- 
lectual honest3^ 

Similar evidence is furnished Iw the conservatives who 
cling to the very form of belief as it has descended from the 
Fathers, and by the radicals who are dissatisfied with the 
definitions of former times. The one party defends ancient 
creeds and the other assails them for the self-same reason ; 
and though we may deplore their differences we may be 
allowed to rejoice in their zeal for the common cause of 
truth. There is no small deviation by the nautilus from the 
life and habits of the snail. They both have shells ; but 
there the resemblance ends. The snail carries his covering 
wherever he goes, and though occasionally he reaches out 
from it, he speedih’ withdraws again to its narrow and un- 
yielding chambers. But the nautilus resides in the external 
mouth of his shell, and is continually moving from old to new 
as fresh growths are multiplied. For he is constantly build- 
ing additional rooms of the purest mother-of-pearl, and while 
he keeps ever on the threshold of the latest creation, he never 
ceases to have communication by a kind of pneumatic tube 
with the earliest. In the same way there are two types of 
believers. There are those who do not recognize the possi- 
bility of expansion or enlargement, and who, if they for a 
moment contemplate the opportunities of progress, draw 
back, snail-like, alarmed at their own temerity. But on 
the other hand, there are those who are ever advancing. As 
the nautilus increases its beautiful shell, ever living at its 
entrance, so these growing disciples are continually enlarg- 
ing their creeds, still being in themselves ahead of them in 
spiritual character. But both in their different ways are 
devoted to the integrity of their house, which is at once 
their refuge and their creation. Of course, on either side 
there may be certain individuals who are uninfluenced by love 
of truth. Some persons may cling to orthodoxy as an inherit- 
ance and not because of its trustworthiness ; and others may 


FALLIBLE AND INFALLIBLE. 


251 


be greedy of heterodoxy because of their impression that the 
latest novelty must possess superior claims to attention. The 
former temper would have effectually prevented the Reforma- 
tion and the rise of Nonconformity, and the latter would 
never permit anything to remain “on earth un wrenched and 
firm.” Northern lights never ripened a harvest, aud the 
scorching noon -day sun perpetually shining would speedily 
wither any that might assay to grow. Lukewarm interest in 
the true by the extreme conservative evangelical may prove as 
fatal as the torrid heat of the reckless aggressionists. I am, 
however, persuaded that cases such as these are compara- 
tively rare. As a whole the Church is influenced by the pas- 
sion we have contemplated, is intolerant of a lie even in her 
own life, and will assail it though the attack jeopardize her 
own existence. Were she under the control of the world-spirit, 
we should hear nothing of higher criticism, of creed revision, 
and doctrinal restatement. Better, far better, and more 
honorable, her irrepressible determination to examine and 
verify, than a supercilious disdain of all questionings as to 
the validity of her claims and the soundness of her theology. 

In addition to this gracious work, the Truth-Spirit directs 
the Church to the possession of truth. Why, then, are there 
warring sects ? Perhaps a sufficient answer is furnished by 
the fact that the Comforter ever operates along the line of 
human faculties and never supersedes them. Never has a 
Heavenly communication been so given as to render super- 
fluous thought and inquiry. The Guide is infallible, but the 
creature is not. Remember that even the Son of God had 
to become Son of Man that celestial ideas might be formu- 
lated by terrestrial lips. The Almighty never does for the 
creature what the creature can do for himself, and in extend- 
ing succor He never sets at naught and discredits the laws 
He has made. Forgetting this, or never realizing it, men 
and women have frequently supposed that knowledge could 
be, and would be, imparted to them without any effort of 


252 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


their own. Professing the right of private judgment, they 
have been too indolent to exercise it, and have supposed that 
no obligation rests on them to receive Divine teachings 
unless they are fully authenticated to their reason, without 
entailing on them the labor of investigation. It may assist 
us to appreciate the part human thought plan's in the ministry 
of the Comforter, and the necessity that exists for its wise 
and discriminating exercise, if we consider in what ways He 
guides the Church into all truth. 

He does so apparently by quickening the memory. Jesus 
declared that He would bring to the remembrance of the 
disciples whatsoever He had Himself spoken {John xiv, 26). 
During His life they were slow of heart to understand, and 
when death came it seemed as though His gracious messages 
were entirely bereft of meaning. In their dismay and con- 
fusion His followers forgot the promise of a resurrection, 
and of other events as precious as they were startling. But 
the forsaken tomb and the wonders of Pentecost revived the 
words they had heard from His lips in many delightful inter- 
views. The past came back, and shone in a new light, in 
the light of Christ’s victory over death and of the tongues 
of flame that inaugurated the spiritual epoch. But had these 
disciples never been associated with Him during His brief 
ministry, the sights and sounds of the Pentecostal season 
would have been as inexplicable to them as they were to the 
multitudes, who were more alarmed and bewildered than 
instructed by what they saw and heard. Memory could not 
recall what it had never treasured. And it still holds good 
that knowledge must be acquired, and in the nature of things 
must be stored away by personal application and diligence 
before it can be summoned by an emergency for service. 
The Spirit of God, I am persuaded, still energizes memoiy. 
But He can no more bring to the surface what has not been 
previously written there, than heat can restore characters 
supposed to have been traced in so-called invisible ink if 


TEST OF THE TRUTH. 


253 


they were never drawn. This fact is frequently overlooked. 
The Bible is not studied and committed to heart, and an 
indefinite expectation is indulged that somehow its contents 
will be miraculously communicated, and then wonder is 
expressed that Christendom is divided, and that the saints 
do not see eye to eye. Be reasonable. You cannot be 
excused from cooperation in the work of your own enlight- 
enment. If you do not bury the Scriptures in your soul, 
however fiercely you may pray, you will remain in ignorance 
of them forever, and never can their gracious promises be 
summoned from the depths by the Comforter for your con- 
solation in the hour of tribulation. 

Again the Spirit facilitates the acquisition of truth by dis- 
closing its infallible test and criterion. {John xvi, 13-15.) 
Our Lord declared that when He should come He would not 
speak of Himself but of Him ; that is, He would continually 
and exclusively show the things of Christ and glorify the 
Christ. There is a cartoon designed for the French Pan- 
theon called “ The Staircase of Voltaire.” The great skeptic 
is represented as standing on the top, while the various 
philosophers of the age are set forth as ascending and 
descending. D’Alembert is accepting an article from his 
hand for the Encyclopcedia, and other writers are coming 
and going with contributions, as though anxious for his 
approval. The purpose of the painter is evidently to express 
the thought that Voltaire embodied the genius of the 
eighteenth century, and that the conformity of others to his 
standard in reality determined their faithfulness to its spirit. 
There is a ladder referred to in the Scriptures {John i, 51) 
on which angels are ascending and descending. That mys- 
terious ladder is Christ, and by Him all aspirations rise to 
the Father, and all blessings fiow down to us. There, like- 
wise, should our conceptions and interpretations of truth be 
brought for verification. If they harmonize with Him, if 
they glorify Him, if they freely rise to the height of His 


254 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


Divinity and as freely reach to the depth of His humanity, 
and tend to unite earth and Heaven through Him, we may 
rest assured, though their form may be crude, their sub- 
stance is essentially correct. My brother, does your doctrine 
magnify or belittle the Christ? Does it make you more than 
you ought to be and Him less than it is possible for Him to 
be ? The Spirit glorified^ Him ; whom do you glorify ? If it 
should be yourself — alas! — or your Church, or -anything 
short of Him, you can hardly fail to be a disturbing and 
dividing element in Christendom, neutralizing by your vanity 
the ministry of your infallible Guide. When you “ have 
taken the stars from the night and the sun from the day,” 
what can keep you clear from the track of error ? In such 
case all your pretence of enlarged thought and lofty flights 
of self-inflated imagination deserves to be characterized in 
the scathing words of Browning, — 

“ No nearer something, by a jot 
Kise an infinity of nothings 
Than one.” 

But if you shall exalt the Savior, if you shall aim to know 
Him and to magnify Him, you will not drift into serious her- 
esy nor multiply schisms ; for if half a dozen or more ships 
steer for one light that flashes from the shore, the}' will not 
miss their course and they will draw closer to one another. 

When these conditions are observed, it will be found that 
the Spirit further directs by illuminating the truth. As He 
took the things of Christ and showed them, made them 
plain and clear, to the disciples, so He still operates to un- 
fold and make transparent. (I Cor. ii, 9, 16.) While we 
have no right to look for spiritual communications contrary 
to and subversive of the Scriptures, neither ought w'e to 
assume that God has ceased to speak to His Church. The 
channel of communication between Him and the soul has 
surely not been blocked by a book, even though it be the 


SUBTLE HARMONIES. 


255 


Book. In our serener moods have we not enjoyed visions 
of transcendent beauty, and gained an insight into the nature / 
and work of Christ hardly translatable into our poor speech? 
The darkness that has rested on some passage, like clouds 
mantling a mountain summit, has by a breath from the Un- 
seen been suddenly dispelled. I have seen a contemptible 
meagre hill hide entirely a lofty peak, and in the same way 
a less important truth has often effectually obscured one 
towering above it in spiritual significance. A change of 
position or different point of observation will disclose the 
mountain, and an alteration in our mental mood will deter- 
mine the right proportions of various doctrines. This dispo- 
sition of the mind, when the mind is docile and receptive, 
proceeds from the Spirit ; and He it is also who so infiuences 
thought that beneath the clang of warring creeds, and under 
the strident cries of agon}’ in the suffering world, there comes 
to be recognized an undertone of harmony and unity. And 
when we are thus infiuenced we too can sing with Ernest 
Meyer to the weary-hearted and discouraged : — 

“ O longing list’ner on the stormy shore, 

Are they so harsh, the sounds that round thee roar ? 

A little while thy disentangled ear 
Amid the tuneless din shall hear 
An under streaming subtle symphony, 

A mystic maze of ordered melody.” 

There remains a final aspect of this mission to be consid- 
ered. The Comforter seeks through the Church to promote 
the progress of truth. 

This is a favorite phrase in our times, and has come to be 
almost the shibboleth of a party. Master John Robinson 
assured the pilgrims that fresh light would break forth from 
God’s Word: ‘‘For it is not possible that the Christian 
world should come so lately out of such thick anti-Christian 
darkness, and the full perfection of knowledge break forth 


256 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


at once.” We cannot suppose that Calvin or the Synod of 
Dort were competent when scarce emerged from Babylon the 
Great to speak the final word for the doctrinal guidance of 
the Church. Nor can we admit, religion being so infinite a 
quantity, that the centuries have exhausted its meaning. 
Toiling time has not yet wrought out all of its deep signifi- 
cance either into ultimate dogma or deed. But we must be 
careful not to press the idea of progress too far, even, as in 
some cases it is done, to the length of absurdity. Perhaps 
in no other connection is the phrase used as immorally as it 
is in relation to Christian belief. Frequently it is employed 
when men are breaking entirely away from orthodoxy and 
desire still to be numbered among its friends. The inspira- 
tion of the Bible, the vicariousness of Christ’s sacrifice, and 
the supernatural operations of the Holy Spirit in the soul are 
put aside as antiquated and obsolete ; and if the forms of 
speech that describe these doctrines are preserved, we soon 
come to learn that it is in condescension to our prejudices, 
and that something radically different is meant from what the 
language really means. The penseur temeraire carries on his 
bold fight against Evangelical religion in the uniform and 
under the colors of that religion. I will not discuss with him 
the chivalry and honesty of his methods ; but to warn others 
of the snare laid for them by the abuse of terms that would 
make out the decay of a plant to be its growth, and midnight 
to be the dawning of day, I will, in a few words, set forth 
the only fair application of the word “progress” to Christian 
truth. 

It may signify the emancipation of truth. Sometimes it is 
held in practical bondage. The Word of God ought not to 
be bound ; but frequently it is, nevertheless. Often it is held 
captive by our greed and our indolence. It ought to be sent 
out and be free to bless the nations ; but in many instances 
the missionary spirit is dead. We may prate in our pulpits 
of “our advanced views,” meaning in fact our gospelless 


THE LAW OF PROGRESS. 


257 


doctrines, which in the eyes of the Divine Christ may simply 
stand for advanced delusions. Rest assured, work goes 
farther with Him than such views, — and really the world is 
more in need of the former than the latter. But, beyond 
this, emancipation denotes the separation of truth from 
encumbering error. Paul, thinking of a criminal bound to 
a corpse, cried out, “Wretched man that 1 am, who shall 
deliver me from the body of this death?” The same cry 
might well be uttered by truth, for it is hardly ever found 
absolutely free from connection with some deadly heresy. 
Alas ! the ages have bound it hand and foot to false theories 
and philosophies, and deliverance from the fatal union is the 
need of the hour. The mighty thoughts of Jesus have been 
imprisoned in iron cages of man’s devising, and to touch 
even the cage is counted b}' some alarmists presumptuous in 
the extreme. In my opinion the world would suffer little, if 
any, loss could these narrow houses of bondage be destroyed. 
Creeds and confessions, rigid articles of faith and formularies 
of belief are not as valuable as many suppose, and if they 
were all destroyed we should be compelled to find out the 
mind of the Spirit without their hindrance, and consequently 
we might be immensely the gainers by the change. 

But progress lies not merely in the direction of liberty. 
It is found also in unfolding and enlarging. As the plant 
develops from the seed, and, in a sense, mathematics from 
the multiplication table, and the man from the child, so in 
all subjects of thought there is the possibility of indefinite 
expansion and advance. The so-called evolution that is in 
reality a process of grafting, by which a false doctrine is put 
in the place of the true, is misleading, and is no more to be 
countenanced than any other contradiction in terms. A navi- 
gator who should propose to discredit and repudiate the first 
principles of his art because he has added largely to his 
original stock of knowledge regarding the solar system would 
speedily be deposed from command of his ship. His style 


258 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


of progress would invite swift disaster. But in dealing with 
the soul, teachers of religion at times claim to have grown 
wonderfully, when, in fact, they have not been following the 
truths they profess to teach from the germ to the flower, but 
have adopted an alien and entirely different species of plant. 
No one objects to an upward and onward march in theology, 
from the simple to the complex, and from primary to ulti- 
mate principles ; but this endless chatter and pretense of 
progress, which means at most the revival of moss-grown 
heresies, — and that generally unsettles the faith of the weak 
and dims the hope of the timid “as the lake’s silver dulls 
with drifting clouds,” — is neither philosophical nor bene- 
ficial. The surface of the ocean has only been skimmed over 
as yet, and thought has merely dipped the tips of its pinions 
in the floods ; then let us not count that development which 
would impatiently substitute a Sahara in its stead, where 
spiritual life must inevitably be parched and stifled. In the 
prevailing infatuation for novelty in doctrine we are in danger 
of overlooking the unfolding of truth that consists largely 
in its adaptation in practical forms to the needs of the age. 
The Comforter was “to show us things to come,” and I am 
sure I am not far wrong in claiming that He fulfills this part 
of His mission by showing us, with the var3’ing changes of 
society, what principles or precepts are peculiarly appropriate 
to the times. I am satisfied that the interest now taken by 
the Church in the social question, and in the wrongs that are 
intertwined with our civilization, is of God. And it will be seen 
at last, through His guidance, that the Gospel is as fitted to 
this era as to others, and has a special message of light and 
love to all the struggling millions of earth. 

I can conceive of only one other legitimate use of the word 
“ progress” in relation to truth, and that has to do with its 
enthronement. The hour of its triumph is fast approaching. 
It shall reign, and not in the name of another, but in its own. 
Time has been, and is not altogether past, when the world 


THE HIGHER LOGIC. 


259 


was invited to believe it on the authority of the Roman 
Catholic Church, or on the authority of miracles. Some- 
thing was exalted above truth, and considered as abun- 
dantly qualified to vouch for it and give it a character. 
While the infancy of peoples may have required some such 
arrangement, we are rapidly approaching the hour when 
truth will be self-evidencing and will demand attention, not 
because some woman of Samaria has borne testimony to its 
worth, but because the entire earth feels the beneficence of 
its teachings and the Divinity of its origin. The days of 
proving and arguing are hastening towards an end, and the 
age is drawing nigh when “ no man shall say to his brother. 
Know thou the Lord ; for all shall know Him from the least 
unto the greatest” ; and then shall the Truth-Spirit rejoice 
in the accomplishment of His mission, and Truth forever 
tabernacle with men. On this very point Browning writes 
wisely as well as poetically : — 

“You stick a garden-plot with ordered twigs 
To show inside lie germs of herbs unborn, 

And check the careless step would spoil their birth ; 

But when herbs wave, the guardian twigs may go, 

Since should ye doubt of virtues, question kinds. 

It is no longer for old twigs ye look. 

Which proved once underneath lay store of seed. 

But to the herb’s self, by what light ye boast. 

For what fruits’ signs are. This hook’s fruit is plain. 

Nor miracles need prove it any more. 

Doth the fruit show ? Then miracles hade ’ware 
At first of root and stem, saved both till now 
From trampling ox, rough hoar, and wanton goat.’’ 

Then shall the veraciousness of doctrines be judged, not 
by their antiquity, nor by their commanding influence in ages 
past, but by their correspondence to the facts of the present, 
and’ by their ability to so interpret them as to promote the 
general welfare of humanity. It is no longer necessary to 


260 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


cite the opinions of sages and philosophers, nor to invoke 
the authority of the Church to demonstrate the value of 
honesty and purity. Not only does the history of many cen- 
turies bear witness to their worth, but every community and 
individual who stops long enough to think will acknowledge 
that they have shown themselves from day to day to be indis- 
pensable to the good order and happiness of society. The 
same test will come inevitably to be applied to the pro- 
founder concepts of Christianity. For why should we adhere 
to the doctrine of atonement if it does not bring to the soul 
a consciousness of reconciliation with God? Why believe, 
or try to believe in the theory of supernatural renewal of 
man’s spirit if it is not renewed, and why insist on “ a 
scheme of salvation” if it manifestly does hot save either 
from sin or sorrow? The time will come, when the world 
wearied with its endeavors to accept as credible what was 
credible to generations long since extinct, and because it was 
credible to them, will receive the great doctrines of our re- 
ligion, probably purged from current crudities, on account of 
their recognized harmony with things as they are, and on 
account of their manifest and undeniable adaptation to the 
spiritual needs of the race. It will tlien be realized that they 
are as vitally necessary to the real interests of mankind as 
integrity or chastity, and they will speak to that new age in 
tones that will carry with them the proof of inherent and 
commanding right to be heard. Thus shall Truth come to 
her throne, and thus in the happier day shall she not only 
reign, but be gladly honored as the gracious queen whose 
“words are spirit and life.” 

This blessed hour may seem to many long delayed, and 
to give few signs of its approach. In some quarters there 
are even indications that intelligence revolts from subscrip- 
tion to Christian tenets. Not unfrequently do we now hear 
men exclaim with Faust, “ I see that we can nothing 
know” ; or hear them declare with Jacobi, “ With the heart 


EXCESS OP BRIGHTNESS. 


261 


I am a Christian, and a heathen with tlie understanding.” 
We cannot deny this present trend toward agnosticism ; but 
we cannot believe it to be more than a superficial and tem- 
porary drift. The discord between head and heart, referred 
to by the German philosopher, cannot prove to be perma- 
nent. It will come to an end. Man cannot continue divided 
in himself ; and as he knows more, he will perceive that 
after all, his spiritual and emotional nature was nearer to 
the eternal soul of all things than his mere calculating 
reason. On this phase of religious doubt De Quincey writes 
with remarkable suggestiveness, when he says “that often- 
times, under a continual accession of light, important sub- 
jects grow more and more enigmatical.” His meaning will 
be clearer, and the application of his thought to contem- 
poraneous agnosticism be more apparent, if we quote him 
farther. He adds : “In times when nothing was explained, 
the student, torpid as his teacher, saw nothing which called 
for explanation, — all appeared one monotonous blank. 
But no sooner had an early twilight begun to solicit the 
creative faculties of the eye, than many dusky objects, with 
outlines imperfectly defined, began to converge the eye and 
to strengthen the nascent interest of the spectator. It is 
true that light in its final plenitude is calculated to disperse 
all darkness. But this effect belongs to its consummation. 
In its earlier and struggling states, light does but reveal 
darkness.” And it is to this particular stage the inquiring 
and thoughtful world outside of the Church has attained. 
It is now neither day nor night. Formerly many things 
were believed without hesitancy, because there was not suf- 
ficient knowledge of the difficulties involved to occasion 
doubt. It is different in our times. The excessive intel- 
lectual splendor of our age makes plain the darkness that 
envelops the mighty doctrines of our faith ; but the noon- 
tide hour' has not yet arrived. We are at the point of 
transition. We know more than our fathers, and know 


262 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


enough to see the difficulties in the way of revealed religion 
as they never could ; but we do not know enough to explain 
and remove them. Less light or more is fatal to agnosti- 
cism ; and the century is moving toward the more. And for 
its increase the Christian is bound to labor. It is his privi- 
lege to do so now, in seasons of skepticism and perplexity, 
when “ the hearts of some are failing them for fear,” and 
the lips of others are uttering reproaches against the Gali- 
lean and His Gospel. To be faithful and heroic in such 
daj’S as these is worthy of honor ; for it not onh' secures 
to future ages the most precious of all heritages, but demon- 
strates the grandeur of unselfish and disinterested loyalty. 
I would rather uphold the Christian banner now, now that 
it trembles in the midst of the battle, than to follow it in the 
coming triumphal procession, when all men shall gladly do 
it homage. 

“ Then to side with truth is noble when we share her wretched crust, 
Ere her cause bring fame and profit and ’tis prosperous to be just. 
Then it is the brave man chooses, while the coward stands aside, 
Doubting in his abject spirit, till his Lord is crucified. 

And the multitude make virtue of the faith they had denied. 

Count me o’er earth’s chosen heroes ; they were souls that stood 
alone. 

While the-men they agonized for hurled the contumelious stone ; 
Stood serene, and down the future saw the golden beam incline 
To the side of perfect justice, mastered by their faith divine. 

By one man’s plain truth to manhood and to God’s supreme design.” 


XVIII. 


THE AHGHISH OF JESHS. 

‘ ‘ And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly ; and His sweat 
was, as it were, great drops of blood falling to the groupd .” — Luke 
xxii, 44. 

I NCONGRUITIES meet us on every side, and at every 
turn in life. Battles rage over peaceful and fertile plains, 
hearts break amid the splendors of palaces, beggars starve 
in lands of plent}’, sufferers languish beneath the cold com- 
placent stars, flowers spring from and beautify the charnel 
house, and Christ agonizes in a garden with the broad, clear. 
Paschal moon gleaming serenely on Him. There seems to be 
a lack of fitness in these things ; the scenery does not corre- 
spond to the tragedy. We feel that war should be waged 
where nature is most drear and desolate, that sorrow should 
be identified with poverty and squalor, that anguish should 
lacerate the soul only when the sun is eclipsed in the 
heavens, and that Christ should weep His tears of blood in 
some waste, barren wilderness. But it is not so, and proba- 
bly it is not that man may realize how little sympathy there 
may be between his surroundings and himself, and that he 
may learn to look for a Gethsemane in his fairest and 
sweetest garden. 

From the quiet shelter of an upper chamber, from the 
refining influence of high discourse, and from the first eating 
of that sacred meal, which has been a sacrament of brother- 
hood to so many souls, Jesus and His disciples directed their 
steps toward the Fish gate, now known as St. Stephens, 

263 


264 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


that leads from Jerusalem to the valley of Jehoshaphat. 
They descended a narrow path, and crossed a bridge over 
the brook Kedron, a stream whose name derived probably 
from the sombre hue imparted to it by the thickly-grown 
forests through which it passed, signifies “ blackness,” and 
soon reached a retired spot near the foot of the Mount of 
Olives, called Gethsemane. This word, composed of two 
Hebrew terms denoting a “ Valley of Fatness ” or an “ Olive 
Press,” was applied to an enclosure beneath the shadow of 
Moriah, whose site cannot now be accurately determined. 
Tradition has indeed tried to localize it within the bounda- 
ries of a rude, broken wall, where grow eight venerable 
olive-trees, whose gnarled roots are beautified by little 
purple and crimson flowers. But the evidence adduced in 
favor of this particular spot is not conclusive, and the belief 
that it was here the Savior sweat great drops of blood may 
be as illusory as the sentimental legend that attributes the 
flowers to the crimson drops that bedewed the ground. 

Knowing how imminent was the final conflict in which He 
must engage, realizing that the hour was near when the things 
prophesied of Him must be fulfilled, and conscious of the strain 
the struggle would impose on His spiritual strength, and on 
His disciples’ faith, Jesus led His followers from the crowded 
city that He and they might in seclusion seek help from God. 
They reached the mount, before this often consecrated as an 
altar, and at the entrance to the garden Jesus left all who 
had accompanied Him, except Peter, James, and John, to 
pray that “ they might not enter into temptation,” that they 
might be so prepared for the coming trial as to resist its evil 
power. Taking with Him the three chosen ones who had 
witnessed His transfiguration. He passed the enclose, and 
then withdrawing from them “ a little farther,” deeper into 
the solitude. He fell upon His face in prayer, while strange 
commotions agitated His soul. From the time that He left 
the supper-chamber darkness had evidently been thickening 


SOUL ANGUISH. 


265 


round Him, literally a darkness that could be felt, and He 
acknowledged its density as He separated from the three 
disciples in the words, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful 
even unto death,” but when He was entirely alone it settled 
down upon Him, shut Him in, and it was night. Then 
occurred that mysterious struggle, that fathomless anguish, 
that appalling grief that bathed Him in blood, and that 
wrung from His sacred lips a cry almost of despair. 

They who had seen the transfigured beauty of their Lord 
beheld as well the painful gloom that obscured for a time 
His glory ; and may not we, we who have meditated often on 
His radiant, triumphant joy, contemplate with profit to our- 
selves His crushing and overwhelming agony ? Do you recall 
the words of Mrs. Sigourney? 

“ Thou who hast power to look 
Thus at Gethsemane, be still, be still ! 

What are thine insect woes compared with His 
Who agonizeth there ? Count thy brief pains 
As the dust atom on life’s chariot wheels, 

And in a Savior’s grief forget them all.” 

While this ma}’ be impossible, as it is no easy task to 
pluck up a rooted sorrow, yet the reverent study of our 
Savior in the garden may assist us to understand His suffer- 
ings and prepare us to endure our own. In these respects 
at least it cannot but be advantageous. 

The Lord’s condition in Gethsemane strikes us as most 
pitiable and wretched. His usual composure and quiet dig- 
nity have yielded to violent agitation and uncontrollable 
emotion. He is as a reed shaken by the storm, as a giant 
tree twisted and bent by the tempest, as a mighty wave 
writhing in the embrace of a cyclone, and as a peaceful 
vale rent, torn, and tossed through earthquake throes. His 
spiritual being is convulsed, is in a state of upheaval, and 
is caught in pangs and pains and in exhausting paroxysms. 
He is prostrated, mental and physical strength broken and 


266 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


collapsed. A burden unbearable presses Him to the ground, 
a revelation of horror fills Him with amazement, and a sense 
of misery unendurable afflicts Him with dejection and fearful 
astonishment. The evangelists employ various forms of 
expression in chronicling and describing this mysterious 
cataclysm of spirit. Matthew writes, “ He began to be 
sorrowful and very heavy.” Mark adds, “He was sore 
amazed.” Luke declares that “He was in an agony,” and 
all of them represent Him as praying earnestly, while one 
of them records the Lord’s own confession, “ My soul is 
exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.” This language is 
more vivid and forcible in the original than in our version. 
It denotes the most absolute and irresistible depression, joj - 
lessness, and dolefulness ; a weariness, heaviness, and fail- 
ure of heart, and a sense of helpless wretchedness bordering 
on hopeless desolation. Moreover, it implies astonishment 
and alarm, as though He stood in the presence of tragical 
calamities and catastrophes that suspended energy, paralyzed 
courage, stupefied thought, weakened faith, and exhausted all 
physical resources. “ Even unto death” is an exclamation 
of awful significance, as though the body felt so keenly the 
piercing sorrow, was so strained by the violent commotion, 
so taxed by the ponderous weight, that it could not but suc- 
cumb. Instinctively we recall the wailings of the psalmist 
as we catch the echo of our Savior’s plaint: “ My heart is 
like wax ; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.” “ I am 
consumed by the blow of thine hand.” “ My heart is sore 
pained within me, and the terrors of death are fallen upon 
me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and 
horror hath overwhelmed me.” And yet there are reasons 
for believing that even David’s anguish is not comparable to 
that which our Lord endured, that He is as supreme in grief 
as in glory, and that His pathetic claim, “ There is no sorrow 
like unto My sorrow,” may pass unchallenged. 

These reasons are supplied by the narrative itself. One 


THE SWEAT OF BLOOD. 


267 


is suggested by the figurative term “ cup,” which, according 
to Scripture usage, denotes bitter afflictions and unmitigated 
penalties. “Upon the wicked,” it is written, “ He shall rain 
snares, fires, and brimstone, and a horrible tempest ; this 
shall be the portion of their cup.” Jerusalem was to be “a 
cup of trembling” to the surrounding nations; and of the 
same city Isaiah wrote, “Thou hast drunk at the liand of 
the Lord the cup of His fury ; thou hast drunken the dregs 
of the cup of trembling and wrung them out.” When the 
central thought in these passages is applied by Christ to His 
own state, we are surely warranted in believing His anguish 
to be unparalleled ; for He represents Himself as enduring 
alone what is set forth in these texts as the aggravated suf- 
ferings of entire classes and cities. But, in addition to this, 
consider what is said regarding His physical condition. He 
is described as being heated with His struggle in the chill 
Syrian midnight air, and as covered with sweat that resem- 
bled great drops of blood. Most likely it was blood, pressed 
by inward agony through the skin, and mingling with the 
crystal dew of heaven that rested on grass and flower. Dod- 
dridge, who subscribed to this view, quoted, in support of 
its reasonableness, various authorities. He says “that Aris- 
totle and Diodorus Siculus maintain that bloody sweats have 
attended extraordinary anguish of mind, and that Loti, in 
his Life of Pope Sixtus F, and Sir John Chardin in his 
History of Persia, mention similar instances.” Voltaire cites 
a very conclusive case. Writing of Charles IX, he says : 
“ He died in his thirty-fifth year ; his disorder was of a very 
remarkable kind. The blood oozed out of all his pores. 
This malady, of which there have been other instances, was 
owing either to excessive fear or evident agitation, or to a 
feverish and melancholy temperament.” Yes ; in the quiet 
of the night he may have remembered the massacre of St. 
Bartholomew, and he may have recalled his own frantic cry 
yelled from the window of the Louvre amid tlie dissonant 


268 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


clang of the tocsin and the groans of the murdered Hugue- 
nots, “Kill, kill, kill.” If haunted by such memories, no 
wonder that the blood fled from such a heart, and through 
almost impassable channels sought a way to liberty. We 
have heard of stricken ones whose hair has whitened in 
a night, whose smile forever has been chased away in a 
moment, and whose form has been prematurely bowed and 
blighted. Such is the awful and intimate fellowship between 
soul and body. But when it is so sympathetic that the 
wounds of the one forces from the veins the life current of 
the other, we may rest assured that we are in the presence 
of a grief which no words can adequately portray, and in 
which no heart unaided by God can possibly endure. 

Commentators very generally express the opinion that 
Christ in this mysterious agony was bearing the sins of the 
world, was receiving in His soul the penalty due the trans- 
gressor, and was thus beginning to expiate human guilt. 
They do not discriminate very sharply between the garden 
and the cross. “The cup” they regard as the flgure of 
atoning sacriflce, and they interpret the prayer as a shrink- 
ing from its bitterness, and as a desire to accomplish, if 
possible, the work of redemption without compljdng with 
its conditions. The only differences which they seem to 
discern between Gethsemane and Calvary are differences 
of degree and quality, not in kind. Both present an atone- 
ment, the one its beginning, tlie other its consummation ; 
the one its spiritual side, the other its physical. Hence some 
writers contend that in the garden we have Christ’s mental 
sufferings, and on the cross His bodily. While this view 
deserves to be treated with marked respect on account of the 
great men who have given it their support, I cannot subscribe 
to it. Throughout the Scriptures it is the death of Christ, 
not His previous anguish, that is set forth as accomplishing 
salvation. That, in the language of the Scriptures, is said 
to have paid the debt ; for in death “ He suffered, the just for 


THE GRIEF BEAKER. 


269 


the unjust, that He might bring us to God.” Moreover, it is 
an assumption totally unwarranted, when it is asserted that 
the agony on the cross was mainly, if not entirely, physical. 
They who alfirm so untenable a proposition surely overlook the 
fact that Jesus cried out when nailed to the tree, “ My God, 
my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” an exclamation that 
indicates a degree of mind anguish never before experienced. 
It was then that “ He poured out His soul unto death,” and 
it was then, and not till then, that “He tasted death for 
every man.” 

In my judgment the real explanation of Gethsemane is 
to be found in Christ’s relation to humanity as the sorrow- 
bearer. He carries our griefs as well as our guilt ; He is 
burdened with our woe as well as with our sin. He not 
only treads the wine-press, that He may set free the 
crimson cleansing streams, but He also treads the olive- 
press, — symbol of peace, — that He may know how to be 
touched with a feeling sense of our infirmities. By His love 
and sympathy He takes upon His heart all the pangs, pains, 
and sorrows of the race from the time that Eve wept over 
the crime of her first-born to the day when the last tear shall 
be shed and the last sigh shall be breathed. He carries the 
afflictions of others just as we do when, by our deep affec- 
tions, we make the trials, disappointments, bereavements, of 
our children or our friends our own. But we can only bear 
a part ; He bore all. From the beginning of His ministry 
He travailed in pain with humanity, gradually discerning its 
multiplied sufferings ; but when He reached the garden, 
they were fully disclosed in all of their horror to His 
consciousness. 

What a tremendous and appalling disclosure ! The mel- 
ancholy Lenau wrote : — 

“Without love, and without God, the way is terrible ; 

The wind moans in the streets — and Thou ? 

The whole world is desperately sad.” 


270 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


Yet He bore all. Gather in one vision all that we know of 
human anguish, and, realizing that our imagination must 
fall far short of the reality, think what must have been His 
experience. Traverse the battle-fields, in number infinite, 
view their nameless horrors, their maimed and slain, and 
conceive not only of the strife, but of the homes made des- 
olate and the hearts bereaved ; then contemplate the plague- 
infested spots of earth, where disease or famine have swept 
millions through the portals of terrible death into eternity, 
and imagine, if you can, the wretchedness entailed by the 
destroyer ; or enter the chambers of torture, where in high 
state the inquisitor has dealt out the cruelty of the rack, the 
lash, and block in the name of piety, or where in begrimed, 
unplastered garrets the violent father or unnatural husband 
with blows and wounds asserts his superior strength ; and 
then recall the disappointments of every life, — the defeats, 
the perplexities, worries, and anxieties, the sorrows that are 
too deep for utterance, and the shame too abysmal for con- 
fession, — and a faint idea of what Christ endured will be 
present to your mind. Yet only a faint idea ; for you must 
multiply these sorrows by the number of the generations 
that have struggled, sickened, and died, before you can 
approximate to the truth. All these woes of all these gen- 
erations were concentrated and pressed upon the soul of 
Christ during the brief hour spent beneath the dark olives 
of Gethsemane. 

Schopenhauer exclaims, “ If God made this world, I 
would not like to be God ; its woes would break m3’ heart.” 
And this is what they came near to doing with the heart of 
God. Man-created and man-related, the misery which fills 
the earth afflicted Him, and its gigantic magnitude smote Him 
with trembling and amazement. He recoiled from it. His 
human nature shrank from it, and the intensity of His emo- 
tion became unsustainable as He realized that from Him 
alone could deliverance come. Should He fail in His mis- 


VICARIOUS SUFFERING. 


271 


sion, should He not reach the cross, then must the race 
continue in helplessness and bitter anguish. Conscious of 
this, that He alone could dry the tears, bind up the wounds, 
and restore happiness to mankind, and realizing how vast 
the undertaking, no wonder that He was dismayed, op- 
pressed, and overwhelmed. No wonder that He sank 
beneath the contending feelings of sympathy and responsi- 
bility, and in His prostration suggested to the poet the rev- 
erent inquiry : — 

“ Dare I say, 

Creator, thou art feebler than thy work ! 

Creator, thou art sadder than thy creature ! 

A worm, and not a man ; 

Yea, no worm — but a curse.” 

My brethren, from this portion of our study we may gather 
some lessons of practical value. AVe may learn that the 
most innocent can hardly expect to escape Gethsemane. 
It lies directly in the way to heaven. All of us must pass 
through it, and the more innocent and morally sensitive we 
are the heavier will be its shadows. Agony of mind is more 
unbearable than the sufferings of the body ; and while that 
which we endure on our own account may be intense, that 
which we endure on the account of others is always more so. 
This is what I mean when I sa}* that the purer and more 
sensitive we are, the keener and more certain will be our 
ano-uish. Will not the mother feel more for the welfare of 
her children than she ever felt for her own? Will not the 
patriot be more concerned for the shame that beclouds his 
country than for his own renown? Will not the philan- 
thropist and the preacher be more solicitous for the tem- 
poral and eternal salvation of the race than for their own 
personal advantage? Jeremiah wept, because of the sin and 
shame of Jerusalem, such tears as he never shed over his own 
afflictions. Paul could wish himself accursed from Christ 


272 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


for Israel’s sake, and every child of God will, to some ex- 
tent, realize that he, like his Master, is appointed a grief- 
bearer in the world. The divine law is that we “ bear each 
other’s burdens,” that we “ weep with those that weep,” and 
that we travail in sympathy with every fellow-being. And 
as Christ was conscious of this relation to human sorrow, 
and that its healing was committed to His trust, so His fol- 
lowers will be deeply sensible of the truth that the growth of 
joy and comfort is dependent on their influence and exer- 
tions. Church of the Redeemer, you are in a solemn sense 
responsible for the continuance of woe and evil, for the sigh 
of every orphan, for the mute appeal of every friendless 
wanderer, for the blasphemy and despair of millions who 
have been morally wronged and murdered. This we may 
learn from our Savior’s agony, and, when we shall feel it 
as we ought, we too shall be “ exceeding sorrowful, even 
unto death.” We too shall be overborne with anguish, and 
we too shall faintly echo His mysterious prayer, “If it be 
possible, let this cup pass from Me.” 

It is assumed by those writers who identify Gethsemane 
with Calvary that in this petition the Savior is seeking re- 
lease from the sufferings of the cross ; that He seeks to be 
excused from the completion of His passion, if deliverance 
to mankind is possible in any other way. “Let this cup 
pass, nevertheless not My will but Thine be done,” signifies 
to these interpreters that He shrank from the very work that 
He came to accomplish, although rather than have it fail He 
would submit to its stern exactions. This is not my thought. 
To me it is incredible that from the beginning He should 
have contemplated His death, have expressed Himself as 
straitened until it should be finished, should have conversed 
with Moses and Elias regarding it on the Mount of Trans- 
figuration, and should have used these impressive words in 
alluding to it : “ For this cause came I to this hour. What 
shall I say? Save me from this hour?” and then have 


THE HEROIC SUFFERER. 


273 


faltered as the crisis approached. He knew more pro- 
foundly than any one else the indispensableness of the atone- 
ment, that it was no arbitrary expedient, but a provision of 
grace imperatively demanded b}’^ the righteous government 
of God ; and it is utterly inconceivable that He should have 
prayed for the impossible. No ; instead of fearing the cross. 
He feared He would not live to reach it. His sufferings in 
the garden were so intense and so crushing that His vital 
resources were failing, and unless arrested He would suc- 
cumb without accomplishing His mission. He sought their 
alleviation, that He might be spared to finish the work God 
had given Him to do. His was the prayer of heroic devo- 
tion to a great cause, not that of faltering cowardice. And 
as the Apostle Paul has it, “He offered up supplications 
with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to 
save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared,” or 
“ in respect to the thing that He feared.” He feared He 
would not reach the hill of shame, but He prayed, and an 
angel strengthened Him, and calmly He met His adversaries, 
and with the composure of infinite dignity yielded Himself a 
perfect sacrifice for sin. In view of this explanation, we 
can understand His resignation. Permit me, in accordance 
with it, to paraphrase His words : “ Let this cup pass,” this 
anguish of the grief-bearer, “if it be possible,” for I feel 
that it is unfitting Me for what remains ; but if it is not pos- 
sible, if I must drink to the dregs, and even if I am to fail 
in My mission, “Thy will be done.” He preferred to go 
forward, to brave the horror of great darkness that awaited 
Him ; but if God at last had ordered otherwise, while He 
deplored the decision. He would not rebel. If it is true, as 
many suppose, that Satan at this hour was seeking to tempt 
Him from the consummation of His passion, how grand the 
victory He achieved over the destroyer when He not only 
remained steadfast in purpose, but actually longed for and 
courted the final conflict ! 


274 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


And from this, my brethren, we may learn the sublime 
motive that should actuate us in praying for relief from any 
suffering that tends to incapacitate us for duty. Are we 
oppressed with care? Are we afflicted and distressed be- 
3'ond measure? Well, we may look to God for help. But 
for what reason ? That we may emplo}' our recovered 
strength of body or of mind in our own interests, or that 
we may devote returning vigor to worldliness and pleasure ? 
No ; but that we may consecrate them to some grander work 
than we have ever attempted, — a work involving more self- 
sacrifice, and even self-immolation. It is this spirit that 
redeems prayer from the suspicion of selfishness and little- 
ness, and it is this spirit that imparts to resignation its 
moral splendor. How grand a meaning do the words “ Thy 
will be done ” take on when they are breathed by one who 
would do more, not less, for others ! Picture to yourselves 
a young minister, a saintly mother, a devoted missionaiy, or 
a consecrated Christian smitten with disease, or with pangs 
of heart- trouble, desiring succor, that life might be more 
absolutely surrendered to the cause of humanity, yet having 
grace to say, “If it is Thy pleasure to cut me off in the 
midst of my years ; if it is Thy purpose to take me home 
to heaven, thus saving me from anxiety, care, and pain, 
‘ Thy will be done,’ ” and 3^ou have touched the highest 
point of moral greatness. Such a one is not courting ease, 
not impatient for bliss, but is so anxious to do something 
that the world may be happier that it would cost him a 
struggle to subdue his will, if God should decide that the 
cross must immediately be changed for the crown. 

“ Hast thou climbed ambition’s height, 

Man of genius, man of might ? 

Seeing from thy lofty seat 
All life’s storms beneath thy feet, 

Empire spread before thine eye. 

Homage, fear, and flattery ? — 


THE STKANGE SLEEP. 


275 


Amid the sounds that reach thee there, 

Kneel, and seek the power of prayer. 

“ Hast thou, in life’s loneliest vale, 

Seen thy patient labors fail, — 

Felt ill-fortune’s daily thrill 
Waste thine energy of will ? 

Yet without revenge or hate, 

Wouldst thou stand the stroke of fate ? 

Wouldst thou bear as man should bear ? — 

Kneel, and seek the power of prayer. 

“ Hast thou, man of intellect. 

Seen thy soaring spirit checked, 

Struggling in the righteous cause. 

Champion of God’s slighted laws, — 

Seen the slave, or the supine, 

Win the prize that should be thine ? 

Wouldst thou scorn, and wouldst thou spare ? — 

Kneel, and seek the power of prayer.” 

When the Savior returned to the disciples, whom He had 
set to watch and pray, He found them asleep. Strange that 
they should have slumbered so near to Him in His agony ; but 
not stranger than that we should be insensible to the awful 
import of His sufferings, and so blind to the meaning of our 
own. Nevertheless, this too frequently' comes to pass ; and, 
as a consequence, we are as unprepared to defend His cause 
as the disciples were to shield His person, and are as un- 
profited by our afflictions as they were by His. We may 
sleep on the threshold of the garden, and permit right to 
suffer at the hands of violence. Let it be so no more. 
Rather, let this scene so impress us, so quicken our discern- 
ment and diligence, that never of the Church may it be said, 
when the torches of wickedness flame against the sky, what 
Jesus said of Himself : “ Behold the Son of Man is betrayed 
into the hands of sinners.” 


XIX. 

THE BETRAYAL OF JESUS- 

“Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?”— 
Joh7i m, 70. 

I T is a remarkable fact that several German writers have 
undertaken to whitewash and vindicate the character 
of Judas. De Quincey approves their endeavor, and if he 
would not have us exalt the traitor to a rank coequal 
with beatified saints, he would have us reverse the judg- 
ment of history, and would have us in the main regard 
him as an excellent though erring individual. 

I think it likely that we are in danger of judging 
historic personages either too leniently or too harshly, as 
our prejudices and misconceptions may incline us; and 
that especially when we criticise we are tempted to ignore 
the golden rule in a way we would not were the party 
concerned on hand to speak in his own behalf. The 
immorality of such conduct is apparent. The dead have 
as clear a right to fair and generous treatment as the liv- 
ing. And if one who moved among men generations 
since, or but yesterday lay down ‘‘to dusty death,” per- 
formed his work faithfully and nobly, it is only the little- 
ness of the censorious and the cruelty of the uncharitable 
that would drag out of obscurity some trivial error of head 
or heart to tarnish the luster of a name which is cherished 
in the affections of the people. For instance, the un- 
friendly criticisms on General Garfield were contemptible. 
Even if warranted, what they allege could not seriously 
affect the estimate of posterity, and the only purpose they 

276 


POSTHUMOUS FAME. 


277 


served was to add another proof to that sad array of 
evidence, which needs no augmentation, that our earthly 
heroes are not divine. Arthur Helps, in one of his stimu- 
lating books, describes an imbrowned plain in India where 
neither wood nor sheltering crag is near. He pictures 
a snake gliding from under a stone, and then as summarily 
slain by a native of the country. He adds that a denizen 
of those regions would look round the whole horizon for 
something to come. “ It does come. Slowly from a dis- 
tant point there rises a hideous, ungainly bird, the gal- 
linazo, which, wheeling round in circles, swoops down up- 
on the snake.” His application of the illustration is as 
follows : “That is just to my mind what there is at pres- 
ent in the politics of the world. At the stillest moment, 
on the smallest cause of encounter, an ‘obscene bird’ is 
ready to sweep down upon the spot.” This is unhappily 
too true. But to me it seems that only the most voracious 
and prurient appetite would gorge itself on some now life- 
less evil, and by its violent attack invite attention to the 
one defect that disfigures the noble reputation of departed 
greatness. 

We may err, however, on the other side. We may 
take a Nero who murdered his own mother, or a Borgia 
who made poisoning a fine art, or a Henry who considered 
matrimony a convenience, or a Napoleon who took to war 
as a pastime, and we may, by disingenuous presentations 
of facts, by artful and constrained interpretations of events, 
and by a plausible and pettifogging management of the 
case, place the expression of an angel on the face of a 
fiend. This may be charity to the dead, but it is cruelty 
to the living. It is doing more than drawing the mantle 
of oblivion over iniquity, it is the transformation of its 
leprous carcass into a holy thing. This is to degrade the 
function of history. The annals of the past are mes- 
sengers to the present. But if they attempt to make that 


278 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


right in a former age which we would condemn in this, if 
they apologize for what we denounce, and if they eulogize 
vice, having thinly disguised it in the robe of virtue, they 
had better fall dumb forever. They do not bear honest 
testimony; they confuse our morals and lower their tone, 
and render us indifferent to the judgment of posterity. For 
these reasons I deprecate the endeavors which have re- 
cently been made to restore the fair fame of the apostolic 
pariah. What special pleading can do in the interests of 
such a cause that refined piece of literary juggling which 
bears the name of Judas Iscariot as subject, and that of 
De Quincey as author abundantly and strikingly exhibits. 
Its Quixotic knight-errantry I shall not presume to review. 
It would be like measuring lances with the chivalrous 
gentleman of La Mancha; even successful refutation of 
the arguments employed would hardly repay the labor. 
But their total inadequacy may be inferred from the fact 
that they do not satisfactorily dispose of such passages as 
these which refer to the character in question: “One of 
you is a devil;” “Jesus knew from the beginning who 
should betray Him;” “Satan entered into him;” “Woe to 
that man by whom the Son of God is betrayed; good were 
it for that man if he had never been born;” “He went to 
his own place;” “And let his habitation be desolate and 
let no man dwell therein ; ” passages which blacken with 
infamy the being to whom they are applied, and render it 
impossible for tricks of criticism to reinstate him in the 
good opinion of mankind. 

History is replete with instances of base and sordid 
treachery. Ethelwold cheats Edgar of England out of his 
bride, and Edgar, discovering the perfidy, finds convenient, 
secret means for destroying Ethelwold. Pompey, escaping 
from Caesar, is murdered by the very power he appeals to 
for protection, one of his own soldiers, Septimius, being 
the first to raise the knife against him. Edward the Mar- 


THE PKEVALEHCE OF TREACHERY. 


279 


tyr is slain by a servant of his stepmother at her instiga- 
tion, and while he is bending from his horse to receive the 
cup of hospitality from her hand. By these means tyranny 
has frequently triumphed over liberty, and for a time 
wrong over right. By these means have thrones been 
usurped, bishoprics and popedoms been secured, and for- 
tunes been amassed, and inheritances won. In view of 
such a record, well may the greatest of our poets indig- 
nantly ask: “Who should be trusted now, when one’s 
right hand is perjured to the bosom?” We would be 
amazed, depressed and overwhelmed could we realize how 
prevalent treachery is in the everyday life of the world. 
Man is continually selling his brother-man, and sometimes 
for less than thirty pieces of silver. Friends plot against 
each other, politicians trick each other, families prey upon 
each other, and almost everywhere we find the despicable 
spirit which betrayed the Son of Man with a kiss. Al- 
though the enormity of Iscariot’s crime may never be 
approached — though of that I am not certain — the fre- 
quency of its repetition in one form or another, the dis- 
trust which it creates, the misery it diffuses, call for such 
a study of its character as will arouse against it the moral 
indignation of society, and serve to promote loyalty to 
friendship and faithfulness to obligation. With this end 
before me I speak to-night. 

The name of Jesus had been growing in popularity, and 
it was impossible to foresee into what portentous dimen- 
sions the movement which He represented would grow. 
Several of the Pharisees had secretly subscribed to the 
new opinions, and they seemed very rapidly to be leaven- 
ing society. The ultimate effect on Judaism could not be 
doubtful, and their possible influence on the already 
“strained” political relations between Rome and Jerusa- 
lem could not fail to excite grave apprehension. Narrow 
and short-sighted views regarding religion and patriotism 


280 


JESUS THE WOELD’s SAVIOR. 


impelled the rulers among the Jews to contrive some 
means by which Jesus could be removed and His cause be 
suppressed. To attack Him and arrest Him in the open 
day appeared impolitic, and might prove dangerous. To 
discover His whereabouts in the night, being, as He was, 
without abiding-place, and gain possession of His person 
without spreading alarm, could hardly be effected without 
difficulty. An injudicious course of conduct might result 
in angry and turbulent demonstrations on the part of the 
populace, and these might lead the Romans to curtail the 
privileges of the nation. To escape these perilous contin- 
gencies Christ must be stealthily secured; for His pres- 
ence once removed, the crowd would lose coherency, it 
would become disheartened and demoralized, and, with 
the usual fickleness of crowds, very probably would, on 
the coming of disaster to the idol, wildly take up itself the 
iconoclastic work. Statecraft and priestcraft, therefore in 
the name of patriotism and piety, leagued themselves to 
accomplish the overthrow of the Prophet-Preacher, and, 
as they pondered the means, the instrument of villainy 
knocked at their door. Judas Iscariot entered. An 
olive-complexioned, low-browed, short-necked, middle- 
sized, round-shouldered, slow-gaited, soft-footed man stood 
before them. Thick masses of black, coarse hair fell 
entangled from his head; his glance was restless, shy and 
furtive; his speech was slow, ambiguous and cautious, and 
his whole manner nervous, hesitating and indecisive. His 
garments were those of a Jewish peasant or mechanic, and 
his social status was manifest in his bearing as in his dress. 
I paint partly from tradition, partly from imagination, and 
judged by what is recorded of him in the Scriptures the 
portrait cannot be very unlike the original. The bargain 
was soon concluded, the plan determined, and with the 
details intrusted to his care, with thirty pieces of silver in 


GETHSEMANE. 


281 


his possession, and with the well-earned contempt of the 
respectable traffickers in blood, Judas went out. . 

“ And it was night.” 

The panther-like step of the traitor fell gently on the 
pavement as he glided into the night, his soul enwrapped in 
denser gloom than ever shrouded nature’s loveliness, that he 
might stealthily summons a mob to his assistance, and that 
even a Roman cohort might be notified of a possible emer- 
gency. Hitherto the powers of darkness have been re- 
strained ; and though they have before this assailed the life 
of the Galilean, as when Herod sought to slay the Divine 
child and the men of Nazareth would have hurled Him down 
the sheer precipice, they have always been defeated. But 
now what gigantic forms of baseness, hypocrisy, malignant 
hatred and devilish cruelty appear on the stage of history as 
though the forces of hell were in awful irruption and deter- 
mined on a final desperate wrestle with the forces of heaven. 
Among these forms there is none more pitiable and despic- 
able than that of an apostle turned hireling, spy and be- 
trayer of innocent blood, fit associate and conspirator with 
sanctimonious rulers, who suborned false witnesses, and who 
by menace and intrigue constrained Pilate to decree a sen- 
tence he himself characterized as unjust, and who to crown 
their infamy bribed the rough soldiers of Rome to lie for the 
benefit of the Hebrew faith. Not unlikel}’ the companionship 
of “ one of the Twelve,” as Judas is pathetically designated, 
with these sleuth hounds of an exacting and tyrannous creed, 
added immeasurably to our Lord’s agony in Gethsemane, 
when tears and sweat and blood bedewed the melancholy 
earth. It was the delightful privilege of Brutus to exclaim 
when dying, “ My heart doth joy, that yet in all my life I 
found no man but he was true to me.” But this joy was 
denied to the truest heart that ever beat ; and one can 
well imagine with what emotion He gave utterance in 
Gethsemane to the words: “Behold, the Son of Man is 


282 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


betrayed into the hands of sinners.” Scarcely had He thus 
spoken when a crowd of rude officials, with flaming torches, 
sticks and staves, penetrated His retreat. Jesus calmly pre^ 
pared to meet them, encircled by the little group of trem- 
bling disciples. In the uncertain light the true victim 
might not be seized, and miscarriage might prove perilous. 
An expedient was soon devised, and in the gleam of un- 
steady torches a dark figure emerges from the invading 
throng and slowly writhes himself, serpent-like, into the 
immediate presence of the Nazarene. Statuesque, immov- 
able, the Nazarene stands, commiseration and contempt 
mingling in His glance. His face shaded with unspeakable 
melancholy, but His form erect, majestic and imperial. 
The figures meet; they touch; the one hisses the friendly 
words, “ Hail, Master ! ” and kisses him ; the other, still 
calm and motionless, reprovingly, but tenderly, answers, 
“ Judas, betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss ? ” 
The infamy is complete. 

Is it not strange that Christ, knowing the character of 
this man as well as He did — and that He did know him is 
evident from what He said about him before the scene in 
the garden had taken place — is it not strange, I say, that 
He should have received him and trusted him as a disciple? 
Perhaps the mystery can only be partially explained. It 
should be remembered that it was not the habit of Christ 
to repel any who, leaving home and friends, seemed anx- 
ious to be attached to His person. He would rather en- 
courage them and bring to bear upon them the refining 
and renewing influence of His ministry. Whatever truth 
could do, whatever kindness, whatever generous treatment 
could accomplish. He would attempt, to rescue the dark, 
sinister man from his evil spirit. Those who hastily con- 
clude that Judas was a vulgar hypocrite misread him 
altogether. What he may have become in the course of 


THE HEART OF JUDAS. 


283 


his career as a disciple is one thing; what he was at its 
commencement is another. What was there in the 
early standing and work of Jesus to tempt anyone to 
espouse His cause unless truly convinced of its heavenly 
origin ? Nothing. He was not only poor, but He preached 
poverty; He not only declared that His kingdom was not 
of this world, but He insisted that the world should be 
abandoned. But even on the supposition that Judas did 
not so understand Him, and, following traditional concep- 
tions regarding Messiah’s reign, believed that it would 
confer earthly honors and rewards, and hence pledged His 
support, he was honest enough as far as he went. Unless 
he had been, he never, with these impressions and expec- 
tations, would have joined a movement which had fur- 
nished no signs that it would be able to do what he de- 
sired. His mistake was in identifying himself with it 
because of the conviction that it was the kingdom of 
prophecy, without really understanding its import or sym- 
pathizing with its aims. When these were discerned, and 
he found his heart unreconciled to them, then he lost his 
sincerity; but it was even then rather the duty of Christ 
to reclaim him than to thrust him out to perish. And cer- 
tainly He attempted to save the man who was so widely 
separated from Him in thought and feeling. He fre- 
quently preached in his hearing against avarice and ambi- 
tion, and before the temptation came warned him plainly 
of its approach. He did, then, all that could be done for 
him; and His mercy explains why He received and cher- 
ished so tenderly the viper that was to sting Him. 

This naturally leads to the inquiry. What were the 
causes which impelled Judas to his crime. Avarice was 
undoubtedly one, ambition was probably another. He 
seems to have been a scheming, grasping soul, and to have 
never risen to the conception of a motive higher than his 
own selfish interests. Sincerely believing in Jesus as Mes- 


284 


JESUS THE world’s SATIOR. 


siah, and as sincerely believing that His Kingdom would 
in the long run assume an earthly form, and would minister 
to his aggrandizement, he compromised himself to their 
support. But he was doomed to disappointment. Christ 
never sought the dignity of worldly royalty; and attempts 
to establish a worldly throne were never even hinted at. 
To Judas, who did not understand the spiritual aspect of 
the new economy, it seemed that all his pains would go for 
naught, and that if things continued to drift as they were 
doing he would never see his dreams of personal social 
elevation realized. Under these circumstances he sets to 
work to plan a coup d'^etat^ a stroke that would revolu- 
tionize the policy of Jesus, and force Him to assert His 
regal rank in terms that would savor less of Heaven and 
more of earth. His mean, cunning nature doubtless pic- 
tured himself as holding high station in the new kingdom, 
perhaps promoted to the treasury, at least holding impor- 
tant office, and having free access to the purse of the peo- 
ple. To bring about this notable scheme he determines 
to precipitate a conflict between the populace and their 
rulers, and to place Jesus in such extreme peril as to com- 
pel Him to head what would in reality prove a political 
movement; and he conceived that both ends would be 
effected easily by betraying his Master to His enemies. 
The Master would resist, the citizens would be roused, the 
Herodian dynasty would be overthrown, revolution would 
prevail, and on its stormful waves he would ride to fame 
and fortune. If I am correct in these views, we are not to 
suppose because he struck for a larger stake than thirty 
pieces of silver, and did not contemplate the killing of 
Christ, that his moral obliquity was any the less. He was 
moved by selfish considerations just the same. To gratify 
his mercenary spirit he was willing to jeopardize the 
safety of Christ, to imperil the lives of the disciples, and 
to curse his country with fraternal, or, rather, unfraternal 


THE TREACHERY OF GREED. 


285 


strife. It was treason against the commands of his chief, 
against His wishes and plans; and it was treason against 
the aims and constitution of the Christian community, and 
in reality against the State as well; and all for the pur- 
pose of satisfying his insatiable greed and his unhallowed 
ambition. Wherever this spirit is found no persons and 
no interests are safe, and as we know how deep*rooted 
and widespread selfishness is, and how overpowering man’s 
lust for gold, we may judge how constant and grave is 
our peril. 

“Why this 

Will lug your priests and servants from your sides; 

Pluck stout men’s pillows from beneath their heads; 

This yellow slave 

Will knit and break religions; bless the accurs’d; 

Make the hoar leprosy ador’d ; place thieves, 

And give them title, knee, and approbation. 

With senators on the bench; this is it 
That makes the wappen’d widow ^v ed again ; 

She, whom the spital-house and ulcerous sores 
Would cast the gorge at, this embalms and spices 
To the April-day again.” 

The mere love of gain will trample on all rights, will rob 
the workman of his wages, widows and orphans of their 
due, and sell them to abysmal penury. None of us are 
safe from its open assaults and its secret maraudings. 
We cannot tell the moment when our lives, our fortunes, 
our reputation may appear to others in the way of their 
temporal advancement, and may incite them to plot against 
our peace. Yea, and if this malignant sentiment has sway 
in our own hearts we cannot for an instant be sure that we 
will not ourselves, Esau-like, sell our birthright, or, David- 
like, put our Uriah out of the way, and, Judas-like, with a 
kiss betray our holy religion. 

The guilt of the traitor is enhanced by the intimacy of 
the relation that existed between him and his victim. 


286 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


There is a famous picture by Leonardo on the “Last 
Supper,” which departs from the conventional serenity of 
compositions on that subject, and represents the exciting 
moment in the scene when, in answer to Christ’s declara- 
tion, “One of you shall betray Me,” the Apostles are ask- 
ing earnestly, “Is it I?” and Judas is forced by the 
example of the rest unblushingly to inquire, “ Master, is it 
I?” The calm, unapproachable majesty of the Savior’s 
face is in strong contrast with the cunning villainy which 
is expressed in that of Judas, seamed and plowed as it un- 
doubtedly was by intense and sordid passion. When we 
think of him as breaking bread with the Being against 
whom he is plotting, or at least as dipping with Him his 
hand in the dish, we are amazed at his effrontery, and are 
startled by his shameless ingratitude. To seek to extenu- 
ate his deed by saying that he really hoped his scheming 
would result advantageously to Christ is mischievously 
immoral; for his conduct should be judged by its ultimate 
motive, which was his own selfish advancement. In all 
similar cases it is the confidential relations, the terms 
of affection and friendship, which render the guilt of the 
betrayer so dark and deep, and which increase the scorn of 
posterity; and these are the things which add to the grief 
of him who has to suffer from the wiles of the conspirator. 
Jugurthawas not merely indignant, but was likewise keenly 
wounded by the treachery of Bomilcar in whom he trusted. 
He felt as Antony did, who had suffered in like manner: 

“ Treason is there in its most horrid shape, 

Where trust is greatest.” 

Thus Frederick H felt when he found the man he had 
honored, Peter de Vinea, trying to poison him; and when 
Becket cried to Fitzurze, “ What is this, Reginald ! I have 
loaded you with favors, and you come to me armed and in 
the church,” his soul was afflicted in like manner. In all 


THE DEFEAT OF JUDAS. 


287 


these cases, and in hosts of others, we hear the cry of the 
assassinated Caesar, et tu Sriite ! 

“ For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar’s angel; 

Judge, 0 you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him ! 

This was the most unkindest cut of all : 

For when the noble Caesar saw him stab. 

Ingratitude more strong than traitors’ arms 
Quite vanquished him: then burst his mighty heart.” 

O, believe me, black as treachery always is, it is doubly 
black when friendship forgets itself, when childhood, when 
brotherhood learns the deceiver’s arts and plots the ruin 
of those whom it should cherish and defend. 

But such treason is never in the highest sense success- 
ful. It fails, and it ought to fail. It cannot be made 
to triumph permanently. Thank God! What blank 
amazement, what impotent wrath filled the heart of Judas 
on the miscarriage of his plans. Jesus did not assert Him- 
self as he hoped He would, revolution did not follow, and 
he found himself alone with his thirty pieces of silver, on 
the face of each particular piece his imagination inflamed 
by conscience must have seen the image of Nemesis, and 
have read the taunting, mocking words, “Betrayest thou 
the Son of Man with a kiss?” Poor he was, poorer than 
before; for reputation was lost, and now whither shall he 
go? No man will trust him, no man shelter or protect 
him. They who employed him despise him, and will have 
nothing to do with him or his ill-gotten gains. No wonder 
that he repented; but, alas! it was the repentance of 
despair. He is mad with himself, enraged at his own 
folly; doubtless he cursed his own stupidity, and trembled 
at the fact that he had brought innocent blood upon his 
soul. His was the repentance of disappointment and of fear. 
The money clinked in his purse and rung its silver notes 
in his ear. What shall he do with it? He must get rid 
of it. It witnesses against him, and he dare not bear it 


288 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


about his person. If the representatives of religion would 
only take it he might derive some consolation from the 
thought that it was being employed to help others. But 
they thrust it from them; and thus he who has sinned for 
money has more of it than he cares to have; he who has 
schemed for it now racks his brain to get rid of it; he who 
had made it his god discovers, when it is too late, that it 
is his devil. 

More solemn question yet, What shall he do with him- 
self? He can throw away the silver, but how can he dis- 
pose of his wretched self? Tormented by the past, ap- 
palled by the future, his folly culminates in suicide. And 
then — what then? “He goes to his own place.” Such 
is the testimony of Holy Writ. What does it mean? 
Where can be the place in all God’s fair creation for such 
a soul as his? He would not be in his place were he 
introduced among the unfallen and redeemed. Judas 
would shrink from such hallowed society; would cower 
before and flee from its unsullied purity. Think of him 
as a free spirit in a universe where every sphere is peopled, 
wandering from star to star seeking his own place. Thus 
may he wander eternally; but so long as the blood stain 
lies on his conscience, and the upbraiding words of Jesus 
“betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss?” echo in his 
soul, so long will he find no rest among the untold millions 
who despise treachery and scorn deceit. “His own place ” 
can only be in a world of spirits like himself — faithless, 
sordid, base, and treacherous. 

Men and women, avoid everything like insincerity. 
You can never win happiness by treason against your 
fellows. The gains you think you obtain by duplicity 
in the end will turn out to be losses. Failure awaits the 
man who disregards the claims of friendship and of obliga- 
tion. Learn from the wretched career of Judas to be 
loyal to the one and faithful to the other. This is the 


THE SAVIOR STILL BETRAYED. 


289 


moral of my discourse to-night. Loyalty to friendship, 
faithfulness to obligation, and especially loyalty to Jesus, 
“who is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother,” and 
faithfulness to that sacred cause for which He died, and 
on which hang the hopes of all mankind. Ruskin says, 
“The sin of Judas is essentially the sin of the whole 
world.” My congregation, let it not be your sin. The 
painter-critic also adds, “Men do not disbelieve their 
Christ; they sell Him.” Yes, sell Him for ease, for ap- 
plause, for profit, for anything that ministers to lust or 
passion, for thirty paltry pieces of silver they betray Him 
and His cause by their indifference, their worldliness, and 
their insane devotion to business or to pleasure. If you 
are under these blinding influences, before it is too late, I 
pray you, break away from them, and by the sincere 
renewal of your allegiance convert the kiss of the traitor 
into the kiss of the simple-hearted and loyal disciple. 


XX. 

THE TEIAL OF JESUS. 


Pilate saith unto them, What shall I then do with Jesus, which 
is called Christ ? — Matthew xxvii, 22. 

'"^T’EVER was there a more remarkable or disgraceful 
trial than that to which our Lord was subjected. 
The proceedings against Socrates were not as violent, and 
the high-handed measures of Laud and Jeffreys were not 
as shockingly outrageous. An ordinary and superficial 
reader of the Gospels cannot fail to perceive how irregular 
and disorderly were the steps taken in the name of justice 
to compass the Savior’s death; and legal writers, such as 
Greenleaf and Dupin, have distinctly pointed out the par- 
ticular forms of law which were shamefully ignored or 
shamelessly perverted in obtaining a verdict. According 
to accepted principles governing criminal cases, it was the 
duty of the court, the Sanhedrim, to save life if possible, 
not to destroy; it was further forbidden to carry an inves- 
tigation through the night, or to pronounce sentence with- 
out the judges having had time previously to fast; and it 
was provided that the tribunal should not be informal, that 
there should be an accuser, and that the prisoner should 
have the assistance of suitable counsel. These safeguards 
and regulations were one and all utterly disregarded by 
the Jewish authorities in their indecent zeal to put Jesus 
out of the way. From the beginning He was treated, not as 
an innocent, but as a guilty man. The court that assumed 
jurisdiction was not lawfully constituted; it appointed no 
advocate for the prisoner; the Judge was the accuser, and 

290 


THE MOCKERY OF TRIAL. 


291 


the witnesses against him were assiduously sought, and 
none in his favor were called or admitted. When the case 
was carried to the Roman magistrate, it was conducted 
before that august functionary in the same arbitrary and 
despotic manner. Jesus is dealt with as though He had 
no rights, and His person is insulted and abused by those 
who ought to have been his defenders. The charges 
against Him are changed to suit the new tribunal, and the 
magistrate realizes and acknowledges that they are base 
fabrications. Nevertheless, he condemns Him whom he 
declares to be guiltless, and hands over to the bloody 
scourge and cruel cross the Being in whom he sees no 
fault. These outrages have not the poor excuse that they 
were deserved, because the prisoner had assumed to be the 
Messiah. The Old Testament does not warrant capital 
punishment under such circumstances, and even if it did, 
it does not countenance the monstrous infamies committed 
to secure the conviction of Jesus. They are beyond the 
possibility of extenuation, and prove that the prosecution 
was a persecution inspired by fanatical maliciousness, and 
that the end of the trial was a judicial murder, as unde- 
served as it was unmerciful. 

The most conspicuous figure next to that of the victim 
which appears in this sad history, is that of Pilate. He 
was the Roman procurator, the sixth that had borne that 
dignity in Judea. We know but little of his early life, 
and that little is merely traditionary, and not worth re- 
peating. It is enough for our purposes to view him simply 
as he was at the time when he acted so ignoble a part in 
the proceedings against Jesus. He had come to Jerusalem 
as the feast of the Passover was approaching, and as it 
might be necessary to prevent outbreaks and preserve 
order among a hostile population greatly augmented by 
the throngs who came from the provinces to participate 
in the solemnities. It cannot be shown that he was a very 
15 


292 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


bad man or a vicious ruler. If he at times dealt harshly 
with the Jews, it may be said in his favor that he was not 
as rigorous as others, and his charge was a peculiarly arro- 
gant and tempestuous one. But while he compares favor- 
ably with those who preceded him in his high office, he 
was altogether too pliant, too weak, too selfish to meet its 
responsibilities faithfully and honorably. He was essen- 
tially a trimmer, like Cicero, and was as destitute of in- 
flexible integrity as ever Lord Bacon was. He was a 
politician in the worst sense of that term, and, having a 
supreme regard to his own interests, veered, oscillated, and 
vacillated to hold the regard of those whom he governed, 
and to retain the favor of the gloomy Tiberius, who had 
appointed him, and whose creature he was. Once, before 
the trial of Jesus occurred, his indecisiveness had been 
proven. He had quartered soldiers in Jerusalem, and of 
course they had taken with them their banners bearing the 
image of the Emperor. This act roused the indignation 
of the populace. The citizens regarded it as an insult, 
and as an endeavor to implant idolatry in the Holy City. 
A storm arose, and before its fury Pilate succumbed, and 
the hated symbols were removed. It could, therefore, 
easily be anticipated by the Jewish authorities how far 
such a man as this would stand by his convictions. They 
foresaw what actually took place, that he would be unable 
to withstand their importunities and threatenings, and 
would ultimately yield to their wishes. Unhappily their 
confidence in the result was justified; but it may be said 
in his favor that he tried, or thought that he tried to save 
the victim of their fury. He protests, he pleads, he pro- 
poses expedients, he seeks to evade responsibility, and 
halts, stammers, and stutters between his sense of right 
and the seeming demands of worldly policy. And we can 
conceive of no spectacle more pitiable than he presents, 
when tortured by his own conscience, disturbed by the 


CHRIST YET OH HIS TRIAL. 


293 


warnings of his wife, and overawed by the dignity of the 
prisoner, and at the same moment cringing before the 
passionate vehemence of the priests, he acknowledges his 
deplorable weakness and helpless perplexity in the words 
of the text: “What shall I do with Jesus, which is 
called Christ?” 

These words enable us to connect this mockery of a trial 
in a very practical manner with ourselves, and to derive 
from it especially one important lesson bearing on our 
spiritual welfare. It is to be remembered that Jesus yet 
stands before the bar of earthly judgment. Providence 
has indeed reversed the decision of the courts at Jerusalem; 
but just as the insulting proceedings continued even after 
innocence had been made perfectly manifest, so the claims 
of our Lord are still being sifted and scrutinized as though 
they had never been passed upon and allowed. The world 
has been unable to get rid of Him. It is obliged to deal 
with Him, and to make some disposition of His demands 
and assumptions. He touches it on every side. The press- 
ure of his moral influence is felt in business, in politics, 
in literature, in domestic circles, and in spiritual struggles. 
He cannot be ignored nor successfully avoided. At some 
point in the journey of life He will appear, and at the close 
it is most likely that He will not be absent. Go where we 
may, we meet Him; think on what we please, we confront 
Him; and follow whatever pursuits -delight us, we still feel 
His presence and the weight of His teachings. As the 
Jews were compelled by His prominence to come to some 
decision regarding Him, either to accept or reject Him, so 
every individual and every community is shut up to the 
necessity of answering the crucial question, “What shall 
I do with Jesus, which is called Christ ?” Books are written 
for and against Him, societies are formed, lecturers and 
preachers go forth to speak, all with the avowed purpose of 
aiding in shaping an adequate and consistent reply. It is 


294 


JESUS THE WOKLD’S SAVIOR. 


as though He stood bound and guarded before the tribunal 
of humanity, His many works and gracious words testify- 
ing in His favor, and yet many assailants and enemies 
aspersing His character and maligning His name. What 
is the judge to do ? How shall He dispose of the case ? 
He must dispose of it; but in what manner? And thus 
millions are puzzled "and perplexed, inclining one way and 
then another, undetermined and undecided, and crying in 
a weak, quavering way, ‘‘ What shall we do with Jesus, 
which is called Christ ?” 

Now, I think the trial scene at Jerusalem, taken in con- 
nection with the review and reversal of its decisions by the 
Court of Heaven, will assist us in forming a very definite 
idea of the answer that should be given. It shows us 
what corrupt humanity did with Him, what Jesus did with 
Himself, and what was ultimately done with Him and for 
Him by Providence, and so teaches us, both by light and 
shadow, how we also should deal with Him. 

The rulers of Israel sacrificed Him to their religious 
prejudices and preconceived ideas. He antagonized with 
their conceptions of the Messiah, and with their esti- 
mate of their own standing before God. He had called 
them hypocrites, had questioned the probability of their 
deliverance from the damnation of hell, and had set at 
naught their hope of temporal enlargement by proclaim- 
ing a kingdom, whose subjects, aims and principles were 
heavenly. These revolutionary teachings they could not 
endure, and the dislike of them increased their dislike 
of their Author, and as they could not answer them they 
determined to crucify Him. They did not examine, test 
and weigh them; they preferred the more sanguinary 
method of terminating debate. Blood was more in their 
line than argument, and murder was easier than refuta- 
tion. The scaffold, the dungeon and the secret assassina- 
tion have from time immemorial been the convenient 


THE WEAKITESS OF PILATE. 


295 


methods of tyranny, just as insolence, slander and vi- 
tuperation are now the usual weapons of ignorant 
and self-conceited bigotry. No wonder, then, that our 
Lord’s defense was stopped by a blow, and that He should 
be silenced by death, when it was evident that logic and 
proof were impotent against Him. While it is happily 
impossible for this treatment to be literally repeated, it 
may in a measure be imitated. Instead of dealing with 
Him fairly and examining His claims candidly, we may, 
on account of some cherished theory which His character 
or doctrine apparently jeopardizes, insult His memory, 
slander the good name of His mother, and make Him out 
either an arrant impostor or a weak enthusiast. Like 
Shelley, we may crucify Him afresh in our poetic frenzy; 
like Renan, we may deck Him out in the mockerv of 
kingly garments; and like Voltaire, we may take up the 
insane cry of “crush the wretch.” Voltaire reminds me 
of Caiaphas, excited, wild and violent. Strauss recalls 
Annas, crafty, plausible and deadly; while their followers, 
who say little and think less, but give the weight of their 
influence against Him, recall the lay-figures of the San- 
hedrim, pliant, docile and murderous. They deal with 
Jesus according to the means at their disposal, as did their 
prototypes, and in a way which we shall see is neither ade- 
quate nor satisfactory, neither commendable nor convincing. 

Pilate seems desirous of acting with greater fairness; but 
in the end he concedes, from motives of self-interest and 
political policy, what the rulers demanded, infatuated as 
they were by prejudice. Our Savior intimates that his 
guilt was less, as he did not instigate the unjust proceedings 
against Him; but He does not clear him of blame, as he lent 
his great office to the machinations of these persecutors. 
Now, it is to be observed that Pilate tried to do several 
things with Jesus before he finally surrendered Him to the 
voracious malice of His enemies. For instance, he under- 


296 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


took to dismiss Him altogether. Hearing that He was a 
Galilean, and that Herod, who ruled in that province, was 
in Jerusalem, he handed Him over to his jurisdiction. 
Herod evidently appreciated the compliment, but politely 
declined to help the Roman out of the difficulty. That 
expedient not succeeding, he patronized Him, and apolo- 
gized for Him. He said to Jesus somewhat haughtily, 
“ Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee and 
have power to release thee ? ” And he intimates to the pros- 
ecutors pretty plainly that harsh measures were not deserv- 
ed. He likewise proposes to exchange Barabbas, a rough, 
fanatical agitator, and perhaps something worse, for Christ, 
hoping thus by a compromise, which implied that the 
Savior was far from being what He should be, to escape 
the dilemma in which he found himself. And, when he had 
failed in all of these measures, he tries to settle the mat- 
ter by solemnly washing his hands, a sign that he regarded 
himself as innocent of complicity in the murder about to be 
committed. That is, Pilate thinks he can abandon Jesus 
to scorn and suffering without personal guilt by merely 
washing the hands that should and could have protected 
Him. Possibly he imagined that this parade and display 
of horror would overawe the enemies of Jesus, and con- 
strain them to let Him go. But in this he was mistaken, 
for they only cried out, “ His blood be on us and on our chil- 
dren.” Evidently the governor had not done with Jesus 
what ought to done. Jesus could not be waved out of 
sight, and would not be patronized. Neither could He 
be exchanged, and a little hand-washing could not in any 
wise avail to cleanse the soul that rejected Him. Human- 
ity to a great extent falls into the errors of Pilate. There 
are those who think that they settle the question of reli- 
gion, especially as it is pressed on their attention by Jesus, 
when they determine to have nothing to do with it. But 
that is a dismission of the subject ; it is no decision. 


THE GRANDEUR OF CHRIST. 


297 


Others there are who essay to patronize the Lord. They 
do not love Him, they do not care for Him; but they do 
make the impression that He is very much indebted to 
them for the support they have condescended to give His 
cause. There are yet others who, like the Jews, prefer 
Barabbas to Christ; that is, their lusts, their appetites and 
barbarities are more highly prized than the Son of Man, 
and they are willing to accept Him only on the condition 
that they may keep these. And there are hosts of others 
who feel that His claims are worthy of confidence, and yet 
abandon Him to His foes and never do anything definite in 
His behalf. They declare that they are not to blame; that 
circumstances prevent them being thorough Christians; 
and that their responsibility ends with the expression of 
their good will. Such trifling with the Master can hardly 
be the true way to treat Him. 

This impression deepens into conviction when we con- 
sider what Jesus did with Himself. His bearing during 
the trial was marked by a calm dignity and self-respect, 
which reveal a deliberate purpose to leave no doubt in the 
minds of those about Him as to whence He came, and 
who He was. His fortitude under the sufferings inflicted. 
His composure under the insults heaped upon Him, and 
His silence, as well as His speech, prove that He is no 
ordinary being. Subject a man to ridicule, and however 
heroic he may be, it abates somewhat from the impressive- 
ness of his presence. I think it doubtful whether any 
mere mortal could have been mocked as Jesus was, could 
have been arrayed in fantastic garments, could have been 
taunted by reviling tongues, and could have been made an 
occasion for the coarse mirth of soldiers, without percep- 
tibly degrading him in the eyes of those who contemplated 
the humiliation. But we are conscious of no such feeling 
as we picture the Christ crowned with thorns, sceptered 
with a reed, and clothed with the soldier’s scarlet sagum, 


298 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


in imitation of royalty and in derision of His assumptions. 
He is just as majestic, as commanding and as Godlike 
when the enmity of man attempts to shame Him as when 
He was calmly teaching on the mount or subduing the 
tempest with a word. Who then is this Being against 
whom the barbed shafts of scorn, contempt and burlesque 
are impotent, and whose very look converts the laughter 
excited at His expense into tears? He is certainly more 
dignified than His judges. They are passionate, furious, 
hasty, superstitious and fickle. They reveal none of the 
nobler and loftier qualities of manhood, and not even their 
pomp and the solemnity of their high office can shield' 
them from reproach. The more we think of them the 
more ludicrous they appear, and the less worthy of respect- 
ful mention. In every way Jesus is their superior. He 
seems to be more the judge than they, and they seem 
more like the criminal than He. Strange if, after all, the 
seeming should be the real; if He was trying them instead 
of their trying Him, and if He was deciding their fate 
when they supposed that they were decreeing His. Not 
unlikely; nay, very probable, if we take into account the 
mighty significance of the words He uttered when stand- 
ing before the tribunals of earth. 

In reply to the mitered persecutor’s solemn interrogatory 
as to whether He was the Messiah, the Son of God, blessed 
forevermore, Jesus answers: ‘‘Thou hast said, I am the 
Messiah, and though ye may slay me, ye shall see me sit 
on the right hand of the majesty of God and coming in 
the clouds of Heaven.” In these words He does deliber- 
ately assert the superiority we suspected, and falters not 
in faithfulness to His character and claimS. What it is to 
be the Son of God may be inferred from the storm of 
indignation and the cries of “blasphemy” that followed 
His avowal. They who were thus moved could not have 
regarded it as equal to exalted creaturehood, but as sur- 


THE KINGDOM OF TRUTH. 


299 


passing it and transcending it. When Jesus is being 
examined by Pilate He gives utterance to some memorable 
words. The Roman asked whether He was “ King of the 
Jews?” and in response our Lord, while disclaiming pre- 
tensions to earthly thrones, asserted His right to this dig- 
nity, and explained “My kingdom is not of this world.” 
“ It is a domain of truth, and all who love and keep my 
words — that is, who honor the truth — are my subjects.” 
What a magnificent conception! An empire independent 
of territory, of palaces, of armies, and of all the outward 
pomp which lends glory to the empires founded by man’s 
might and genius! A spiritual domain where all national- 
ities and races may unite in one grand fraternity, where 
all are to be united by their common devotion to truth, 
and where all labors shall be for the promotion of truth, 
and all allegiance shall be due exclusively to truth, that is, 
to Him who is in Himself the reality and the glory of 
truth. But who is He that dares aspire to the sovereignty 
of such a nation? What must be the character of the 
Being who can create such a kingdom, sway such a scep- 
ter, and inspire the needed confidence in Himself as the 
very substance of that which He enjoins, and the ultimate 
foundation of that which He creates? Pilate inquired 
whether He was the Son of God. He answered not, for 
He had previously confessed that He was, and it is only in 
this dignity — a dignity higher than creaturehood, the pre- 
cise import of which we do not now pause to investigate — 
that the adequate explanation of the mystery can be 
found. We see, then, from these mighty assumptions, 
and from His entire bearing during the trial, what Jesus 
did with Himself. He magnified and exalted Himself 
even in His humanity, and disclosed His essential glory 
even in His shame. Yea, we likewise see what He would 
do with Himself. He would exalt Himself to the right 
hand of Godj He would reign in the thoughts and hearts 


300 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


of men; He would be acknowledged as the Son of the 
Highest; and He would at last judge the world in right- 
eousness. 

But let us inquire what Heaven has done with Him and 
for Him ? Has Heaven justified His dealings with Himself, 
and has it given us reason to believe that His expectations 
and longings have been realized? An affirmative answer, 
we think, can be safely given. It is warranted by two sig- 
nificant facts: Providence speedily reversed the decision 
of the court that condemned Jesus, and fixed the stamp of 
its execration on the proceedings by overwhelming and 
punishing His judges. Let us never forget that the dis- 
honor and discredit heaped upon Jesus continued only a 
short time. Though His enemies were permitted to do 
their worst and were permitted to enjoy their triumph for 
a moment, soon the reproach, like the stone at the sepul- 
cher, was . rolled away, and He was vindicated in the 
thought of mankind. When the angels came to perform 
their humble part in the resurrection, and Heaven broke 
the seal of the tomb, it was practically declared that the 
appeal which the murdered man had taken to the highest 
tribunal had been heard, and the unjust sentence forever 
revoked and canceled. Since that precious hour, what has 
not Providence done with Him and for Him? It has 
made Him the center of the world’s religious hope, the 
Being toward whom the eyes of the helpless, the burdened 
and the dying are turned with loving confidence. It has 
exalted Him to dominion over the thoughts and lives of 
millions, and to greater power over the conscience than 
the mightiest monarch ever swayed over the body. It 
has given Him conquests in every corner of the world, 
and enabled Him to subdue the vicious and rescue the lost. 

Equally significant has been its dealing with the men 
who accomplished His violent death. The Jewish nation 
became involved in political troubles which brought about 


HIS BLOOD AVENGED. 


301 


its ruin. The charge of sedition which it alleged against 
Jesus, a crime which in Him excited their horror, the na- 
tion itself committed. Its rulers insisted that it should be 
punished when Jesus was reputed the offender, and, strange 
to say, having encouraged the Romans to show no mercy, 
no mercy was shown them in the day of their transgression. 
According to their own judgment they were judged, and 
as they had meted it out to one poor, helpless being was 
it measured to them. As we ponder these coincidences 
we cannot but feel the terrific force of the words, “Ven- 
geance is Mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.” Repay, in- 
deed, in the same coin, and apparently with interest. What 
became of Pilate we know not. He is handed over to tradi- 
tion, a custodian as unreliable and unstable as himself, which 
never knows exactly what to do with the names committed 
to its care, but now testifies one thing and then another, 
and at last leaves everything in grim uncertainty. The 
way tradition has dealt with Pilate is not unlike the way 
Pilate dealt with Christ. “What shall I do with Jesus?” 
queried the Roman. “ What shall I do with the Roman ? ” 
queried tradition, and straightway proceeded to consign 
him to sorrow and shame. He is represented as exiled 
by the emperor, and again as imprisoned, as commit- 
ting suicide, and as reappearing in gloom at times on 
earth washing his blood-besmeared hands. His ghost 
is supposed to haunt the heights of Mount Pilatus in 
Switzerland, and the people who lived in the valleys many 
years ago saw in the clouds that foretoken storms which 
gather round its summit the evident signs of his unresting 
spirit. But however vain these legends may be, at least 
they indicate how posterity judges his connection with the 
trial of Jesus, and we know beyond serious question that 
no further good fortune attended him after his unright- 
eous course. His career was arrested. We read of him no 
more. History chronicles no achievements and no honors 


302 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


subsequent to the prostitution of his magisterial character. 
And it is not unreasonable to suppose that he associated 
his crime with the decline of his fortunes, and wandered 
conscience-smitten and sin-burdened to the end. Thus 
then Providence rescued the fair name of Jesus from the 
clutches of His assailants, and has exalted Him to a posi- 
tion of the highest honor and the sublimest influence. 

In view of its decision, “What,” let me ask, “should we 
do with Jesus, which is called Christ?” I answer: Do with 
Him what Providence itself has done. Defend Him from 
His adversaries, and, what is of more importance, exalt 
Him to His true place in your affections and life. Trust 
Him, for He is worthy; love Him, for He is deserving; 
follow Him, for He is all-sufficient. This is His right, this 
is your duty. While this will bring glory to His name, it 
will bring peace to your soul. Ah ! remember that what 
you do with Him will decide what He will ultimately do 
with you. The decision is tremendous in results. Jesus 
will deal with you as you deal with Him. 

“The sweet persuasion of His voice, 

Respects thy sanctity of will ; 

He giveth day — thou hast thy choice 
To walk in darkness still. 

A tenderer light than moon or sun, 

Than song of earth, a sweeter hynin 

May shine and sound forever on, 

And thou be deaf and dim. , 

Forever round the mercy seat 
The guiding lights of love shall burn, 

But what if, habit-bound, thy feet 
Shall lack the will to turn ? ” 


XXI. 


THE DEXIAL OF JESUS. 

And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter. And Peter re- 
membered the word of the Lord, how He had said unto him, Before 
the cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice. — Luke, xxii, 61 . 

K EPEATED and violent asseverations do not always 
inspire confidence. One of Shakspeare’s characters 
says of another, “The lady doth protest too much, me- 
thinks;” and the same great author writes: “ ’Tis not the 
many oaths that make the truth; but the plain single vow, 
that is vow’d true.” Unpleasant suspicions seem to be 
engendered in proportion as friendship and faithfulness are 
pledged with full-mouthed words, windy assurances, and 
extravagant exclamations. History furnishes a woful 
number of instances in which multiplied promises and in- 
tensified professions have served as a prelude to betrayal. 
When Napoleon made the most gushing advances to Selim, 
the Sultan, so that the Moslem was drawn into war with 
Russia, he was arranging with the Czar for the partition 
of Turkish territory. Philip of Macedon was likewise 
loud and voluble in his denials of evil purposes against the 
government whose overthrow he had most at heart. And 
kings and princes, popes and cardinals, have generally 
kept their sacred honor in the inverse ratio of the vehem- 
ence wherewith it was pledged. Such was also the case 
with Peter. He is indignant w'hen the Master predicts 
that His disciples would abandon Him, and would leave 
Him as the shepherd to be smitten. This reflection on 
their integrity Peter personally resents, and asserts confi- 
dently and unhesitatingly that though others might be 

303 


304 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


offended, he never would, and though others might deny 
Him, he never could; and that it were easier for him to 
die than to prove false. Sincere though he undoubtedly 
was when he thus spoke, and in this respect superior to the 
majority of those who protest fluently and deny easily, he 
did not realize that the very energy of his declamation 
would diminish the moral force needful for its conversion 
into deeds, and that the fervor expended in extreme ex- 
pressions of friendship would foster presumption and 
blind him to the necessity of watchfulness. But what he 
did not perceive, Jesus did; and He put him on his guard, 
or tried to do so, by uttering the prediction, ‘‘ Before the 
cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice.” And yet, though 
thus admonished and warned, this man of many vows went 
the way of the false and did what he never supposed he 
was capable of doing. 

The fall of Peter is to us as strange as to him it seemed 
impossible. He was no ordinary man; no weakly, effemi- 
nate soul to be swayed by every change in the social bar- 
ometer. Born in Galilee, near the Sea of Tiberias, and 
reared to the exposures and hardships of a fisherman’s lot, 
and accustomed to grapple with the might of the tempest, 
he was the last person whom we would suspect of incon- 
stancy and fickleness. It appears incredible that he who 
had held his frail bark to her task with the white teeth of 
the billows gnashing against her, and with the stormful 
winds roaring around her, would deviate from his course 
as a follower of Christ because in the ecclesiastical sky 
“ the storm rack rolled up ragged and brown.” The im- 
pression we receive from Jesus of his character goes to 
increase this incredibleness. When He first saw him He 
called him Peter, “ a rock,” a significant name. He had 
heretofore been called Simon, a designation which imports 
“one who hears,” and may have been conferred on him 
because of his attentive, studious habits; and if so, calcu- 


DANGER OF SELF-CONFIDENCE. 


305 


lated to heighten our good opinion of his worth. Judged 
by his Epistles, though he may not have been educated in 
the schools, he was neither shallow-minded nor illiterate. 
Simon becomes Peter. As a mark of honor the Savior 
bestows on him this second name, perhaps to teach us that 
to do is better than to hear, and that to endure is nobler 
than to receive. Certainly it suggests the idea of strength 
and stability; and yet we should never forget that a stroke 
of lightning will rend the rock, and the earthquake’s shock 
will overthrow the hills. The presumption is against such 
disastrous results, but they are clearly within the range of 
probabilities, and the massiveness of Peter’s character 
renders it unlikely that he should fall, while it does not 
guarantee his safety. We would, however, suppose that 
the favor shown him by the Master would have acted as 
an all-sufficient restraint upon him, and would have pre- 
served him in the hour of trial. Jesus had associated him 
with James and John as a witness of the more glorious 
and secret phases of His ministry; He had also reposed 
in him the fullest confidence; and had in a sense made him 
chief among the apostles. He it was who was to open the 
gates of the Heavenly Kingdom to the Jews, and then to 
the Gentiles, and though his authority was not unshared, 
it was the hrst to be exercised, and was never to be trans- 
mitted. Such honors and dignities ought to have held 
him fast to his professions, but they did not. Neither his 
native firmness nor the Lord’s favor sufficed to shield him; 
and from his defection we may learn, however morg,!, up- 
right, and pious we may be, not to be over-confident. We, 
too, are in jeopardy; we, too, may depart from rectitude; 
and we, too, may deny the Lord who bought us. Such 
being the case, with more than a passing and ephemeral 
interest ought we to meditate this evening on the down- 
ward course of him who has been called “the Prince of the 
Apostles,” 


306 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


We are not to suppose that the fall of Peter cast not 
its shadow before. In the spiritual world, as in the phys- 
ical, great changes come not unannounced. We may be 
blind to the signs, but signs there are. The most sudden 
tempest has been heralded, though we may have been deaf 
to the warning. A cloud as light as the condensed breath 
of infancy, unnoticed and unvalued, may harbinger a 
night of desolation; and some spiritual mood, some tran- 
sient thought, some unaccountable uprising of lawless pas- 
sion’s flame may be the prophet of approaching disaster 
to the soul. In the case of Peter it was forecast by ebul- 
litions of impetuosity, rashness and forwardness. When 
the Savior tenderly and solemnly alluded to the death that 
awaited Him, this headstrong apostle undertook to rebuke 
Him, and bluntly declared that it could not be, and thus 
drew on himself the sharp censure: “Get thee behind me, 
Satan; thou art an offense unto me.” At another time, 
when, tossed on the familiar waters of Galilee with his 
brother disciples, he saw the Lord Jesus coming toward 
them, calmly walking on the sea, and heard Him say, “Be 
of good cheer, it is I,” his self-confidence and recklessness 
led him to propose a desperate venture as a means of test- 
ing the reality of what seemed so phantom-like. He 
essayed to walk upon the sea; but his faith was not equal 
to his courage, and he would have been speedily engulfed 
had not Jesus interposed to save him. From these in- 
stances we can readily understand why the Lord should 
have looked with solicitude on the future of His servant. 
He saw in him qualities which, while giving promise of the 
highest usefulness, would, if uncontrolled, betray him into 
evil. And thus it often comes to pass that the most com- 
mendable traits of character, such as generousness, fear- 
lessness, decisiveness and unsuspiciousness, may become 
the means of personal degradation. How frequently are 
the fallen credited with excellences which approach to vir- 


PETER’S DENIAL OF JESUS. 


307 


tues, but which have become the unconscious instruments 
of vice. Rest assured of two things: when your warm- 
heartedness inclines you to fellowship with the gay and 
frivolous, when your contempt of peril inclines you to 
take risks involving moral issues, and when your self- 
reliance leads you to despise prudent safeguards, your 
nobler qualities are undermining your integrity, and the 
prophecy of inevitable ruin is being uttered. 

The particulars of Peter’s defection are likewise signifi- 
cant and instructive. When Jesus was surrounded in the 
garden by the hirelings of the priesthood, our apostle 
made a show of resistance and violently drew a sword, 
and when the Master was led away to His judges he fol- 
lowed Him. Up to this point, therefore, he was still loyal; 
and, though doubtless confused and bewildered by the 
events that had taken place, was sincerely desirous of 
doing his duty faithfully. He seems to have been aided 
by John, who may have had some influence with the 
domestics in gaining admission to the great quadrangular 
hall at the upper end of which Jesus was examined by 
Annas. The servants kindle a fire, and with several offi- 
cers gather round it while the trial proceeds. Peter, 
perhaps to avoid observation, and especially that his con- 
cern in the scene being enacted might not be noticed, 
joins the group and affects the attitude of an uninterested 
spectator. He has allowed himself to drift into a false 
position. We cannot suppose that he meditated wrong, 
or was guilty of anything more than carelessness; and yet 
his inadvertency was followed by very serious conse- 
quences. The woman who had admitted him, surprised at 
his assumed indifference, and probably seeing through it, 
bluntly inquires: “Art not thou also one of this man’s 
disciples?” Thrown off his guard by the question, and 
half conscious that he has already compromised himself, 
Peter meets her query with a flat denial. The lie once 
16 


308 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


spoken, it has to be backed up and made good by others. 
The woman repeats her question, and he repeats his 
denial, “I am not; I know Him not.” He becomes set, 
dogged and stubborn, and moves toward the porch through 
which he entered. He is again confronted and recognized, 
and again he declares: “I do not know the man.” For a 
time he seems to have been left by his tormenters, and to 
have regained a little of his composure, but it was not free 
from sullenness and slumbering anger. Unfortunately he 
ventured to talk, and the storm broke forth again. One 
said: “Did I not see thee with Him?” Another ex- 
claimed: “Thy speech betrayeth thee.” Assailed on all 
sides, unable to explain himself without the most humili- 
ating of confessions, enraged at his own weakness, and 
enmeshed by his own untruthfulness, he whispers excitedly 
through his teeth: “I know not the man,” and begins to 
curse and to swear. 

Ah! brethren, how has the gold become dim! How 
has the most fine gold become changed! And ever will it 
be sullied and alloyed when men, whether moralists or 
Christians, place themselves in a false position. When they 
join the company of atheists and blasphemers, not meaning 
to sympathize with them, but not protesting; when they 
sit quietly by when virtue is being ridiculed, and utter 
never a disapproving word; and when they frequent ques- 
tionable resorts and engage in questionable pursuits they 
compromise themselves and are not far from the practical 
repudiation of all they have professed. Suppose under 
such circumstances they should be confronted with the 
question, “Are you not Christians?” is it not probable 
for very shame’s sake they would answer “ No ” ? And if 
at such a time they should be tempted to some grave 
iniquity, is it not more than likely they would answer 
“Yes”? But while false positions should be dreaded, 
misstatements and misrepresentations should be abomin- 


THE DANGERS OF FALSEHOOD. 


309 


ated. One lie breeds another; and as an English writer 
has it, ‘‘ He who tells a lie is not sensible how great a task 
he undertakes; for he must be forced to invent twenty 
more to maintain that one.” He must, as Mrs. Browning 
says : 

“ Pay the price 

Of lies, by being constrained to lie on still ” 

The defeat of Harold at Senlac was due to a chain of 
falsehoods; Froude has shown how multiplied misstate- 
ments surrounded Queen Elizabeth with manifold perils; 
and we all know that the conflicts and disasters growing 
out of diplomacy are mainly owing to mendacity. History 
furnishes on a large scale instances of the fatal succession 
of unveracities, and biography proves that individual lives 
may be involved in a labyrinth of deceit through the 
thoughtlessness of one dishonest word. Even slight pre- 
varication may, like a slight bend in the road, change the 
direction of life’s journey so that instead of extending 
through broad, open fields, it will be darkened by narrow 
gorges, and perplexed by tortuous forests. A lying spirit 
will be followed by lying conduct. If you are given to 
the one, you only lack opportunity and occasion to fall 
into the other. To err here is not the beginning of defec- 
tion from rectitude, it is defection; it is itself a denial of 
allegiance to religion and morality, for it is diametrically 
opposed to both. The habit of untruth, though it may 
not be directed against Christianity, is virtually the rejec- 
tion of Christianity, yea, and the deliberate forfeiture 
of Heaven; for it is written that no liar hath admission 
there. Unopposed, unchecked, the course is downward, 
and may end in cursing and swearing; for, as in the case 
of Peter, it brings with it embarrassments, complications, 
exposures, and reproaches, and oaths and blasphemies are 
resorted to as the only means of escaping the former and 
as the only available mode of answering the latter. Some- 


310 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


times the profanity is less in words than in deeds. Dis- 
comfited, unhappy, mortified, the wretched victim of deceit 
may be guilty of the blacker profanity of dissipation or 
crime, or both, and at last end his inglorious career in the 
darkness of despair. 

But such despair is not inevitable. There is deliver- 
ance even from iniquity and moral failure. Peter’s life 
would not be worth the studying if it taught not this. 
Penitence is possible: forgiveness is obtainable. The way- 
ward can be reclaimed, and the outcast may be rescued. 
This is the essence of the Gospel; and on this, as illus- 
trated in the restoration of our erring apostle, we find 
it profitable to meditate. 

There is something strikingly dramatic in the accounts 
given of his recovery. If we return to the judgment-hall 
where the denial occurred we cannot fail to be impressed 
by the startling coincidences and the pathetic, if not sensa- 
tional, climax of the scene. Peter, having answered the 
portress curtly and almost savagely, moves toward the 
porch, and as he does so the cock crows. He may not 
have noticed the shrill heralding of the day, which an- 
nounced as well the gathering of night about his soul, but 
the Master had predicted the significant connection be- 
tween the sign of morning without and the darkness of 
evening within. Again the cock crew — immediately fol- 
lowing the last denial — and Peter remembered the words 
of Jesus. There doubtless came rushing on mind and 
heart the recollections of his vain-glorying, his self-asser- 
tion, and self-confidence, and with them memories of the 
Savior’s tender admonitions, faithful rebukes, and sol- 
emn prophecies. Overwhelmed by the consciousness of 
his folly and guilt he creeps slowly toward the door, that 
in congenial solitude he may hide his grief and shame; but 
before he crosses the threshold he instinctively turns his 
eyes to the tribunal before which Jesus stands. The 


THE LOOK OF JESUS. 


311 


Master and the servant gaze upon each other though 
separated by many feet of distance, and yet though farther 
disjoined by moral differences, their eyes meet and their 
spirits too. “The Lord turned and looked upon Peter.” 
To the guilty man it must have seemed as though the 
Friend he had wounded from first to last had been observ- 
ing him, had followed his actions, had heard his whispered 
fierce denials, and had forgotten His own peril in His 
solicitude for him. But much more than this must the 
Master’s look have conveyed to Peter. We know the 
eloquence of the eye, how it flashes scorn and indignation, 
how it gleams with compassionate tenderness, how it at- 
tracts and fascinates, how it remonstrates and pleads, and 
how it governs savage beasts and more savage men. When 
the lips are dumb the eye still discourses in terms of pity 
or of hate; and when the hands are bound the eye still 
carries on the warfare, darting its sunrays, like the god 
Apollo, against a viperous brood of evil. How much ex- 
pression there must have been concentrated in the look of 
Christ! Contempt for the sin, compassion for the sinner, 
reproach mingled with remonstrance, condemnation with 
commiseration, and withal affectionate solicitude for the 
future of His erring servant, doubtless burned and glowed 
in that look. As it flashed, with the speed of light, both 
pity and rebuke, it may also have reminded the guilty one 
that He who had foretold this sin had likewise promised to 
pray for him, and that the prayer would be answered 
as surely as the prediction had been fulfilled. 

“ I think the look of Christ might seem to say — 

‘ Thou Peter ! art thou then a common stone 
Which I at last must break my heart upon, 

For all God’s charge to His high angels may 
Guard my foot better? Did I yesterday 
Wash thy feet, my beloved, that they should run 
Quick to deny me ’neath the morning sun, 

And do thy kisses like the rest betray? 


312 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


The cock crows coldly. Gro and manifest 
A late contrition, but no bootless fear ! 

For when thy final need is dreariest, 

Thou shalt not be denied, as I am here. 

My voice, to Grod and angels, shall attest, 

Because I know this man, let him be clear.’ ” 

Nor was the look in vain; for it is written that when 
Peter remembered the words of Christ, “he went out and 
wept bitterly.” O troubled, guilty soul, thy recovery is 
also possible. Though the Savior in visible presence is no 
longer here. He seeth thee. He discerneth thy weak- 
nesses, knoweth thy temptations, and how sorely thou hast 
been tried. He hath watched thy every step in evil, and 
hath whispered warnings by thee unheeded, and His eyes 
are on thee still. To-day thou heedest not His love, 
but the morrow may quicken thy remembrance of former 
innocence, of sunny, guileless hours, and happy intercourse 
with thy God and thy Redeemer. Some familiar strain of 
music echoing from the sinless past, some shadow of a 
dear, sweet face mutely speaking of olden and purer 
times, some passage from God’s Word moistened with a 
mother’s tears and perfumed with a pastor’s prayers, may 
break in on thy hard indifference, and thou shalt realize 
that the Almighty seeth thee, hath seen thee in thy sin, 
doth see thee in thy need, and doth see to pity and for- 
give, and then shalt thou also go forth and “weep bit- 
terly.” 

These words testify to the sincerity and depth of Peter’s 
contrition. Tears are the stream along whose course the 
guilty steer for Heaven. They are the rain drops before 
the sunshine, and they are the iris on the cloud of wrath 
that speaks of hope and peace. But all-important as 
genuine sorrow for sin is in the conversion of the soul, it 
is not all. The Apostle Paul describing repentance says 
of it: “What carefulness it wrought in you. Yea, what 


crakmek’s recaktation. 


313 


clearing of yourselves; yea, what indignation; yea, what 
fear; yea, what vehement desire; yea, what zeal; yea, 
what revenge ! ” These expressions cannot be obscure to 
you. They denote in general an actual turning away from 
the evil and an earnest, reverent, circumspect pursuit of 
the good. Genuine contrition is practical as well as emo- 
tional. There is, however, one term in this catalogue 
which may not be altogether clear. It is the word “re- 
venge.” What can be meant by classing this ill-favored 
word with others of a fairer face in this picture of repent- 
ance? Of course, it cannot mean that the renewed soul 
harbors wrath toward a fellow-being, or that it should 
cherish the malignant feeling that seeks to inflict injury 
on an enemy. The revenge here spoken of is directed 
toward the guilty self, not toward others. It is the spirit 
that hates and destroys that particular infirmity or tend- 
ency in the individual which led to or was most prominent 
in the transgression. Our Savior refers to it when he 
says: “If thy right eye offend thee pluck it out”; and 
“if thy right hand offend thee cut it off.” We have an 
illustration of this thought in the closing moments of 
Cranmer’s life. He had signed a paper recanting his 
Protestantism, and when the hour came for him to die — 
for die he must, as the so-called Mother Church in Catho- 
lic Mary’s days had little confidence in the penitence of 
heretics — the Archbishop was so deeply grieved concern- 
ing his perfidy and weakness that he determined the hand 
that wrote his name should be first of all his members to 
suffer from the flame. Tennyson represents him as speak- 
ing thus; 

“ The papers by my hand 
Sign’d since my degradation — by this hand 
Written and sign’d — I here renounce them all ; 

And, since my hand offended, having written 
Against my heart, my hand shall first be burnt, 

So I may come to the fire.” 


314 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


And the chroniclers of the time describe how the venera- 
ble man, when bound to the stake and the greedy flames 
began to roar and devour, held his poor guilty hand where 
it would perish, and without a cry or murmur beheld it 
consumed to ashes. What indignation ! What revenge ! 
Such revenge, though in a different way, took Peter on his 
sin. The tongue that had denied Christ he now devotes 
to His service; the feet that fled from His side he now 
sends on His errands; and speech and feet — yea, and 
every power of mind and body — are consecrated all to 
the one work of making Him known, whom in an evil hour 
he had said, “he never knew.” And thus must contrition 
ever manifest itself in acts, in forms appropriate to the 
sin committed. If intemperance, if lust, if hate, if ava- 
rice hath caused the sin, these particular vices must bear 
the brunt of the soul’s displeasure. In this way do special 
iniquities find special antagonists, and in this way is right- 
eousness furthered among men. And as in all the varied 
phases of iniquity Christ is dishonored, and His authority 
treated with contempt, in every movement of reform the 
penitent heart seeks His glory and the recognition of His 
sovereign grace. 

Thankful should we be that whosoever thus repents, the 
blessed Lord will in no wise cast out. He received Peter; 
He will not reject thee. To the erring apostle He sent a 
special remembrance when He had risen from the grave, 
saying, “Tell my disciples and Peter that I go before 
them into Galilee,” mentioning the name of the penitent 
that he might be assured of his forgiveness. Thus shall 
He speak to thee, my contrite brother, and assure thee 
individually that He has gone before thee into Heaven to 
prepare a place for thee. Not only did He pardon Peter 
completely. He also pardoned him generously. He restored 
him to his place among his brethren, and committed to his 
care the lambs and sheep of the blood-purchased flock. 


MERCY IS FREE TO ALL. 


315 


In this honor others shared; but Peter would hardly have 
presumed to take it to himself after his great transgres- 
sion. The Master therefore specially confers it, as He had 
once before empowered him to be a fisher of men. He 
will also treat thee as liberally, whether thou art back- 
slidden disciple or wayward unbeliever, if thou dost return 
in penitential spirit to His throne. Offices of trust, posi- 
tions of responsibility, opportunities of doing good He 
grants to all who seek Him that they may be useful, and 
that they may know they serve no churlish, suspicious 
Lord, but one who forgets and favors when He forgives. 

Then let meek repentance, crucifying self-esteem, step 
forth from the ruins of fallen pride, and then the intolera- 
ble pangs of self-reproach shall cease, and humiliation at- 
tain the exaltation promised by the lips of Him whose 
promises are yea and amen forever. 


XXII. 


THE OEHCIFIXIOX OF JESUS. 

And they crucified Him. — Matt, xxvii, 35. 

’TXXHEN a Government or an institution has outlived 
V V its day, and is too meager and narrow to satisfy 
the expansive intelligence and sympathy of the people, a 
good thing it would be if it would gracefully and volun- 
tarily seek to be abolished, and not wait to be hustled 
violently and unceremoniously into an ignominious grave. 
But this edifying spectacle of the dead, putrid carcass of a 
civilization getting itself appropriately enshrouded and 
entombed has rarely, if ever, been witnessed. Much 
oftener has the corpse of former vitalities persisted in 
restraining and repressing with its fleshless hand the new 
life of the world; and has generally only relaxed its hold 
when compelled to do so by social upheavals or foreign in- 
vasions, which, amid shrieks, cries, curses and groans, 
have trampled its worthlessness into an inglorious sepul- 
cher. Thus the body of heroic Rome long survived the 
extinction of its soul, and would not cease offending 
Heaven with its grimaces, sumptuosities, artificialities, and 
its automatic and spasmodic cruelties, dissensions, and 
ambitions, until Hun, and Goth, and Vandal made an end 
of it and of them forever. Thus, likewise, monarchical 
France, the France of the Bourbons, whose spirit seemed 
to depart with Louis XIV, and which through two suc- 
ceeding reigns tried by tricks, oppressions, and unvera- 
cities to perpetuate itself in the face of human progress, 
would neither modify itself nor abrogate itself, and had to 

316 


THE JEWISH CHUKCH DOOMED. 


317 


be swept away by revolutions and the guillotine. F eudal- 
ism in Europe, slavery in America, and landlordism in 
Ireland, when it was discovered that they were worse than 
profitless, and could be dispensed with, were unwilling 
quietly to depart, but must needs fight it out and succumb 
only to that might which, in its assault on such systems, is 
identical with right. 

And in the same way we find the Jewish nation and 
Jewish Church of Christ’s time having gone totally blind, 
dumb, and deaf, declining to accept the inevitable and 
withdraw from the scene of action. They had formerly 
been great powers on the earth, had been directly governed 
by the Almighty, and had been messengers of eternal 
verities to the world; but all that was over with long 
before Jesus appeared. Their power was a thing of the 
past; and, as ‘‘God is the God of the living, not of the 
dead,” He had departed from them, and their voices had 
ceased to articulate Heavenly wisdom. Though they had 
thus fallen into impotence, they would not relieve the earth 
of their presence, but insisted upon maintaining them- 
selves at all hazards, and the result was revolts, wars, con- 
vulsions, and final collapse in blood, smoke, and flame. 
While this storm-doom was slowly gathering, Jesus con- 
fronted the Jewish people and faithfully told them that 
everything worth preserving was gone from them, swal- 
lowed up in empty formalities, idle mummeries, pretense, 
and show, and that, unless they abandoned their pomps 
and vanities, and trusted in Himself, they could hardly 
escape the damnation of hell. Instead of giving good 
heed to His words, and doing the only wise thing under 
the circumstances, they waxed indignant, and confirmed 
what He had said regarding their corruption, weakness, 
and heartlessness by crucifying their would-be benefactor. 

How difficult it is to estimate the significance of acts or 
events at the time of their occurrence. They are seeds 


318 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


whose nature and properties are unknown, and when 
planted none can tell whether they will spring up into 
modest flowers or mighty trees. Who would have sup- 
posed that Runnymede and Magna Charta would have 
grown into the liberty-loving nineteenth century ? When 
the indignant Bostonians emptied the tea into their beau- 
tiful bay, how few among them could have foreseen the 
results of their conduct ? When the Convention called on 
Citizen Bonaparte to quell the rising of Section Lepelle- 
tier, 1795, not a soul on its benches, nor the young officer 
himself, had the faintest imagination of the importance of 
the summons to them and him. With haste would the 
order have been countermanded could it have been antici- 
pated that its successful execution would lead to the Em- 
pire and to the wars of Napoleon ! John Brown, of 
Harper’s Ferry fame, is arrested and executed by the 
authorities of Virginia, and in a short time the invader is 
exalted to the rank of hero-martyr, and his death comes 
to have a potent influence on the overthrow of slavery. 
Caesar, deciding to meet the Senate, is assassinated in the 
Capitol, and the course of Roman history is changed; 
Charles I, refusing the overtures of Parliament, is at 
length beheaded at Whitehall, and the development of 
England is modified; and Louis XVI, failing to improve 
his opportunity to escape, loses his head in the Place de 
la Revolution, and the growth of liberty in France is 
diverted and the destiny of the country radically altered. 
And Jesus is crucified on Calvary, and a new era is inau- 
gurated, world-wide in its scope, and without a parallel in 
the annals of time. . Jesus said truly regarding his ene- 
mies, “They know not what they do”; and though Caia- 
phas unconsciously prophesied that the Nazarene should 
die for the nation, he was utterly ignorant as to the 
mighty consequences that would follow His violent taking 
off. He and his colleagues could not have supposed it 


GOD’S WAYS NOT OUK WAYS. 


319 


possible that a gibbet would become the symbol of a new 
faith, that the death of a peasant would become the 
foundation of future theologies, and that the innocent 
blood they shed would be to unborn millions a sacred 
stream in which they should seek sin-cleansing for their 
souls. And yet the unexpected and unanticipated have 
become the actual. Verily, we understand not our own 
doings at the time of the doing; can neither measure 
their import nor issues; and as the poet exclaims, 

“A greater power than we can contradict 
Hath thwarted our intents ” ; 

and as it is said in Hamlet, 

“Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own,” 

— and we need not therefore be surprised that the crime 
of the furious priests and fanatical people of Jerusalem 
turned out so amazingly different from what they pur- 
posed or desired. 

What they, being, as they were, blinded by passion 
and hatred, could not penetrate, now in the light of evan- 
gelistic narratives and apostolic comments can be intelli- 
gently appreciated; and as it fills so large a place in the 
religious thought and life of the world, we may with profit 
inquire anew into its meaning. 

In doing so, let us transport ourselves to Calvary, 
and note what there is about this official murder that 
invests it with an extraordinary character. It is early 
morning, and the streets of Jerusalem are thronged with 
excited group^s who are discussing the arrest of the pre- 
vious night. Jesus finds few defenders among those who 
so recently welcomed Him to their city with every token 
of confidence and joy. Perhaps here and there some man 
once blind, or some demoniac now restored, is not en- 
tirely forgetful of His healing mercy, and faintly protests 
against the outrages being committed. For the honor of 


320 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


human nature let us hope this. But while some friendly 
voices may have been raised in his behalf — and of this 
we have no record — the majority of the population cried 
“ Crucify Him,” treating Him as the Athenian rabble did 
Socrates, and as the Roman citizens did Coriolanus — 
treatment which in the latter case called forth the scorn- 
ful denunciation merited by them all: 

“You common cry of curs whose breath I hate 
As reek o’ the rotten fens, whose love I prize 
As the dead carcasses of unburied men 
That do corrupt my air.” 

Those ignorant and fickle crowds in Jerusalem clam- 
ored for the innocent blood with wolfish eagerness and 
tigerish savageness; and, doubtless, when they heard the 
verdict trod upon each other in their vulgar haste to see 
it carried into effect. The sentence pronounced by the 
judges decreed a punishment of heathen origin, unrecog- 
nized by Jewish law, and of fiendish severity. The cross 
was an instrument of torture as well as of death. Its vic- 
tim was first of all scourged with knots of rope or leather 
thongs, to the ends of which were fastened bits of lead, 
and which lacerated the body fearfully, sometimes tearing 
out eyes and teeth, and even inflicting death. This ordeal 
past, the mangled prisoner was either tied or nailed to a 
transverse-shaped wooden instrument, the weight of the 
body resting on a wooden pin or meager seat, and then 
the whole was lifted up, and was rudely pushed into a 
socket that it might stand upright. In such a position 
the sufferings were excruciating. The blood rushed to the 
head, intense pain shot through the arms and limbs, and 
the torn, gashed, and bleeding back, fretting against its 
rough support, racked the entire frame with indescribable 
torments. Nor was this all. The crucified one was ex- 
posed naked on the tree to the sun by day and the chills 
of night, and to the sharp teeth of beasts and the iron 


THE ANGUISH OF THE CROSS. 


321 


bills of ravenous birds; and often before life was extinct 
these foul creatures began their loathsome orgies. Im- 
agine a miserable fellow-being thus suspended, thus ex- 
posed, consciousness remaining, memory still active, the 
waves of a thousand hells surging in his soul, the discord 
of a thousand devils ringing in his ears, praying for death, 
the prayer growing into a shriek as the bloodshot eye 
beholds the ominous form of prowling beast and swooping 
bird, and you have before you an image of human agony 
such as only men of abnormal cruelty could consent to 
inflict. And yet this was the fate to which our Lord was 
doomed — a fate which filled enlightened men, such as 
Cicero, with horror, and which was rarely meted out to 
any, except in war, who were not the most abject and 
vicious of the race. Such extreme measures taken against 
a person as inoffensive as Jesus are not without signifi- 
cance. Why should He have been crucified when stoning 
to death was the punishment provided by Jewish law for 
unparalleled villainies. Was it to make Him a melancholy 
exception, so that the eyes of the nation, and perhaps of 
the world, might be drawn toward Him ? The priests 
did not so design it, and yet it has had this effect; and 
hence whoever thinks of Jesus to-day thinks of Him inva- 
riably in connection with the peculiar character of His 
sufferings. These sufferings, likewise so unmerited and 
excruciating, and commonly adjudged only to crime, sug- 
gest the likelihood, as they were undeserved on His part, 
that the burden of human woe rested on Him, and that 
for some reason and in some manner He was appointed by 
Providence to endure what was due to the crime of others, 
as well as to their sin. If there should be sufficient 
grounds for regarding Him as an atonement, then, of 
course, it would follow that there was concentrated in 
Him the bitterness of the world’s agony: and that it 
reached its climax on Calvary, and assumed this terrible 


322 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


form that even the greatest outlaw and outcast might 
have hope. 

The sentence has been pronounced; the Jewish Priests 
have retired to their exultation, and the heathen Governor 
to his fears, and the dismal procession moves through the 
northwest gate of Jerusalem to a skull-shaped knoll near 
the highway. There are three prisoners each bearing the 
transverse portion of his cross, and a placard setting forth 
the sin he had committed. Soldiers surround the con- 
demned men, under the command of a Centurion, and 
throngs of curious and sometimes of insulting people attend 
and perhaps impede the solemn cortege. As it proceeds a 
few women press near Jesus, manifesting the deepest sor- 
row on His behalf; and, seeing them, He gently remon- 
strates with their grief, and tells them not to weep for 
Him but for themselves and for their children. This inci- 
dent recalls the impressive and dignified bearing of Jesus 
during all the indignities heaped upon Him. We have 
seen how superior to His judges He appeared when the 
trial was in progress, and, now that He is at the last stage 
of His suffering pilgrimage. His personal greatness be- 
comes yet more apparent. He exhibits no weakness. 
The belief that He stumbled beneath the weight of the 
cross, and that in consequence it was placed on one Simon, 
is a fiction due to the painters and to the stories of ignorant 
sentimentalists. The stumbling is not recorded in the Gos- 
pels. The section of the cross He carried was transferred to 
the Cyrenian, possibly because he had manifested sympathy 
for the forsaken one; but there is not a word about our 
Lord faltering or fainting. Jesus is calm and composed 
throughout. To the insults of His enemies He is silent, 
or, at most, exclaims, “Father, forgive them”; to the ne- 
cessities of the robbers at His side He is gracious, seeking 
to guide them, that they might be with Him in Paradise; 
and to the love of His mother, and the faithfulness of 


DAKKKESS OVER THE EARTH. 


323 


John, which brought them near to His bed of agony, He 
is affectionately tender, providing for the one and honor- 
ing the other. No word of scorn passes His lips, no flash 
of indignation darts from His eye; but to the last, though 
His soul is heavy with sorrow, and His body tortured 
with pain. He carries Himself as one who is conscious 
that He is voluntarily laying down His life, and who 
could, if He so willed, pluck it even then from the hands 
of His persecutors. 

What, likewise, adds impressiveness to the scene is His 
apparent experience of anguish which man’s power could 
not inflict, and which His innocent life does not explain, 
and which, at last, seems to be swallowed up in an un- 
earthly victory. He cries: ‘‘I thirst;” but it seems rather 
to be a thirst of soul than of body. He gives utterance 
to the fearful exclamation, “My God, My God, why hast 
Thou forsaken me!” revealing an inner chaos and spiritual 
desolation unparalleled and unfathomable. And as this 
awful darkness gathers within, the shadows of thickest 
night envelop the cross without. This preternatural gloom 
has been regarded by many as the sympathy of external 
nature; but while it may have been this, yet, taken in 
connection with our Lord’s words and with what follows, 
very probably it signified something more. Remember 
that Jesus died at the time of the Passover, the memorial 
of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, when the angel passed 
by every house on which the blood of the lamb had been 
placed; and remember, also, that on the great day of 
atonement the priest entered within the veil and sprinkled 
the blood of the sacrifice before the mercy seat, and that, 
when the mysterious darkness about the cross was dis- 
persed, that veil in the temple was rent, and Jesus cried 
with a loud, exultant voice, “It is finished!” and with calm 
majesty, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit!” 
This assuredly was no ordinary death. These striking 


324 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


words, these strange coincidences, and portentous sur- 
roundings mark it as exceptional, and even as preternat- 
ural. The august bearing of the victim. His unaccount- 
able despair, and subsequent triumph point to a moral 
grandeur and significance which separate it forever from 
the commonplace. Even the multitudes about the cross 
seem to have been thus impressed, for they rose from the 
contemplation of His agony, and from the presence of the 
darkness, with uneasy minds, and returned with silent 
forebodings to their homes, while the Centurion, recovering 
from the surprise which these extraordinary circumstances 
had excited, added to their dismay by crying: ‘‘Truly, this 
man was the Son of God!” 

The traveler in Europe soon becomes familiar with the 
form of the dead Christ. On every side, in stately basilica, 
in lowly village chapel, in rocky niche hewn out of rugged 
mountains, and in the private apartments of the great and 
the boudoir of the fair and frail, he confronts the crucified. 
The cross is everywhere, bearing its thorn-crowned and 
pallid victim. It gleams in marble, appeals to the people 
in rudely carved, unpainted or painted wood, and frowns 
its horrors on them from many a wondrous canvas. Art 
in the past seems to have been fascinated by this one sub- 
ject, and to have returned to it after its excursions in other 
fields with an insistency and regularity altogether phenom- 
enal. Occasionally pictures are met with which present 
Jesus as the Risen One, radiant with immortal beauty; or 
as the awful Judge, robed in splendor, and descending 
amid angelic beings to the solemnities of the last tribunal. 
But these themes fail to inspire the artists’ pencil with that 
ardor which appears in their frequent treatment of the 
crucifixion. They come back from these sublime concep- 
tions to lavish the wealth of their genius and the strength 
of their skill on the gloom and agony of that tragic scene 
which forms the climax of gospel history. The pain-racked 


THE ATTRACTION OF THE CROSS. 


325 


body, the slow-oozing blood, the agony-contorted muscles, 
the ashen-hued color of the skin, the light-extinguished 
stare of the eyes, and the heart-grieved and soul-saddened 
expression of the face have more pronounced and enduring 
influence over them than the glories of the great white 
throne or the placid blessedness of the heavenly world. 

Nor are they singular in this strange attachment for 
the somber shadows of mournful Calvary. The preachers, 
like the painters, and in common with the more spiritual 
of all ages, have concentrated mind and heart more on its 
suggestive darkness than on the brightest and most trium- 
phant subject of divine revelation. They have preached 
it, and re-preached it, and departing from it to engage in 
other studies, have sought it speedily again that they 
might anew inquire into the meaning and point out its 
deep significance. Especially in seasons of religious de- 
pression, when iniquity has defiantly reared its impious 
head, and when the souls of men have been more than 
usually infatuated with sin, they have turned to the cross 
as expecting there to find the only potent antidote. They 
may have gratified their own taste, and have delighted 
thousands by abstruse discourses on theology; they may 
have rejoiced themselves and others by brilliant ethical 
disquisitions and by poetical and sentimental sermons on 
nature or on grace, the beauties of the one and the sweet- 
ness of the other; but whenever they have been unequivo- 
cally in earnest, and desired immediate spiritual results to 
follow their endeavors, they have abandoned everything 
else and have kept close to the cross. And in this they 
certainly copy the apostles and the entire primitive church. 
As we read the New Testament we cannot have failed to 
observe how frequently Christ as crucified is magnified. 
Our Lord Himself sets the example. To His disciples He 
said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all 
men unto me” — which He spake concerning the death 


326 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


that He should die. He also urges on his hearers the 
duty of bearing the cross, and does so in such a manner 
as to create the impression that compliance is indispen- 
sable to salvation. So the apostle Paul, in addressing 
the Corinthians, maintains that Christ and Him crucified 
constitute the wisdom and the power of God unto sal- 
vation. He consequently desires to know nothing else 
than that theme, and announces to the Galatians his 
settled determination to glory in that and in that alone. 
In various other ways this same idea is made prominent 
in the sacred writings, and from it we gather that it is 
the mind of the Spirit to center human attention and 
human affection on Christ; not so much on Him as risen, 
reigning, and rejoicing, as on Him suffering, agonizing, 
dying. 

Why is this? Why should that which according to 
man’s judgment is the bar-sinister on the shield of faith be 
thus exalted? Why should a reeking Tyburn and an 
ancient scaffold be made so conspicuous in a system which 
seeks to save, refine, and elevate ? Why is the wounded, 
lacerated, tortured form of Jesus obtruded at all times on 
the thought of men? To the cry of the world for light 
has Christianity only shambles to offer in return ? In re- 
sponse to the longing for visions of peace, revelations of 
love and beauty, why is it that we have an exhibition of 
savage cruelty and a repulsive picture of horrible malig- 
nancy? To answer in some adequate sense such inquiries 
as these is my desire; and, while I can not hope to satisfy 
all minds, I may at least help them toward a rational solu- 
tion of a problem which they can not afford to treat with 
indifference. 

The explanation given by the Scriptures of this phenom- 
enal death is expressed by the word “atonement.” They 
imply a resemblance between the ceremonial offerings and 
the sacrifice of Jesus. As they were presented publicly. 


THE DAY OE ATONEMENT. 


327 


SO was Jesus; as they were slain, so was Jesus; as their 
blood was carried within the veil, and the reconciliation 
was completed there alone with God, so the perfecting of 
Jesus’ suffering- work took place in the thick darkness, 
alone with the Father; and, as they effected deliverance 
for all who were guilty of ceremonial defilement, so Jesus 
has wrought out salvation for all who have committed 
moral transgression. As I stand here, I can picture to 
myself that solemn day which was set apart by Israel for 
reconciliation, and I can see the high priest in his white 
garments of humility, having slain the victim, entering into 
the holiest of all to sprinkle the blood of expiation before 
the mercy seat, while the people, moaning over their sins, 
are prostrate without. A hush rests on the assembly, 
broken only by the wailings of the penitent, and the heart- 
sobs of the contrite. What does it all mean ? Why do 
the multitudes rise with so much joy when the priest 
reappears and extends his hands in benediction ? What 
have they received ? In what are they advantaged ? Let 
us ask yonder smiling Hebrew as he is returning to his 
tent. “ Do you not understand it?” he inquires, and adds: 
‘‘This is the day of atonement; our sins have been put 
away through sacrifice, and the nation is once more at 
peace with God.” “But, friend, are we to believe that 
these poor offerings can cancel and purge moral guilt ? ” 
To which he answers: “No; these cleanse from ceremonial 
defilement; but they also assure us that He will come who 
will cleanse us from all sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” 
Yea, verily, and if not, then the world has been befooled 
by these sacred institutions and has been educated to 
expect a Savior when no such gift was ever contemplated. 
Let who may believe this, I cannot. If the Bible does 
not teach the reality of atonement, then it is a jumble of 
incoherent and meaningless sayings, hardly worth the 
study bestowed upon them. This, however, is more in- 


328 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


credible than the doctrine in question, and is not for a 
moment to be entertained. 

As the High Priest, this is the work which Christ per- 
forms. Think it not strange that suffering should be 
needful to salvation. Remember that transgression carries 
with it agony and anguish. There is no exception. Suffering 
treads upon the heels of sin, ultimately overtakes it, and 
wraps the guilty in its embrace. Does not this intimate 
relation create a probability that some kind of painful 
sacrifice will be involved in the measures adopted for 
deliverance ? And is not the supposition strengthened by 
the fact that every step of progress has left behind it a 
bloodmark, and every onward movement, whether social, 
political, or religious, been accomplished through sore 
travail of soul and body? I know how difficult it is to 
define the atonement; how inadequate words are to express 
the meaning of the mystery. We may, however, accept the 
representations of the Scriptures and rest in them. They 
testify: “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by 
His own blood. He entered in once into the holy place, 
having obtained eternal redemption for us;” and “how 
much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the 
eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge 
your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” 
This then is what the Savior has done, and does for us. 
Before the mercy seat He stands and intercedes, and, 
knowing how to sympathize with us, urges His petition on 
our behalf. Yea, from the heavenly glory He looks down 
upon our low estate, and, like the Jewish priest returning 
from the holy place, gently breathes His gracious benedic- 
tion on our souls. Hence, we find Him saying: “The 
Son of Man came, not to be ministered unto, but to 
minister, and to give His life a ransom for many;” “ This 
cup is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for 
you;” “I am the Good Shepherd; the Good Shepherd 


DEATH OHCE FOR ALL. 


329 


giveth His life for the sheep;” ‘‘No man taketh it from 
Me, but I lay it down of Myself; I have power to lay it 
down, and I have power to take it again;” and “Greater 
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life 
for his friends.” By His immediate followers He is also 
spoken of as bearing the sins of the world. “Behold the 
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world!” 

“ He was once offered to bear the sins of many,” and, it 
is said, “He bare our sins in His own body on the tree.” 
To which may be added the following inspired declara- 
tions: “When we were yet without strength in due time 
Christ died for the ungodly; ” “Christ also hath once suf- 
fered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring 
us to God;” and “hath redeemed us from the curse of the 
law, being made a curse for us.” These passages consti- 
tute the merest fraction of the testimony on this subject, 
as set forth in the Bible; but, if they are accepted, then 
the death of Jesus was in some vital sense necessary to 
the world’s redemption from sin and evil; and, if this is 
true, we have not only an adequate account of its extraor- 
dinary and otherwise inexplicable features to which I have 
alluded, but also an elucidation of that Providence which 
permitted the shameful end. Nay, more, we are enabled 
by this view of Christ’s death to understand why the 
sacred writers should glory in the cross, which in itself 
suggests only ideas of ignominy; why they should insist on 
preaching Christ crucified as the sum and substance of 
saving truth; why such preaching has in reality proven the 
power of God unto salvation, reclaiming the degraded and 
rescuing the imperiled; why the sacrificial system of the 
Jewish economy passed away, and why no other religion 
has arisen with altars, priests, and bloody offerings since 
the completion of our Lord’s ministry, though up to that 
time they were inseparable from every form of worship. 
All this is explicable on the assumption that Jesus died 


330 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


for our redemption; for, if such is the case, well may the 
sign of that fact, however degraded in itself, become the 
symbol of our assuring faith; well may the declaration of 
that fact form the essential feature of our teaching; and 
well may all efforts to furnish expiatory mediation cease, 
when we find that that which was wrought on Calvary two 
thousand years ago, whatever captious criticism and rail- 
ing rationalism may say about it, actually possesses the 
efficacy of a veritable atonement to pacify the conscience 
and purify the heart. 

Much has been brought forward of late, in the name of 
so-called advanced religious thought, against this explan- 
ation of Christ’s death. But some of the objections urged 
are idle, because they merely bear on man’s representa- 
tions of the subject, which, confessedly, may be inadequate 
and even contradictory; others are grounded in a total 
misrepresentation, growing, as we trust, out of an honest 
misconception of the doctrine; others have been repeat- 
edly answered, and the few that cannot fairly be replied 
to are not specially dangerous, as they belong to a class 
which are as potent against theism as against orthodoxy. 
These objections I shall not undertake formally to discuss. 
Yet I may be permitted to observe that the atonement of 
Christ does not necessitate the belief, though its enemies 
affirm to the contrary, that God took an innocent person, 
almost against His will, and sent Him to suffer for our 
sins, and that in this manner He quenches the wrath- 
spirit in His own breast. No; the Savior freely came, 
came as freely and gave His life as freely as ever martyr- 
saint or hero-patriot surrendered for truth or liberty the 
life-blood of his heart. When such self-forgetting devo- 
tion on the part of man shall need apology, then, and not 
till then, will it be necessary to vindicate the Savior’s 
offering of Himself. It may, likewise, be well to remark 
in passing that the efficacy of the atonement may not 


CHRIST OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 


331 


after all, consist in satisfying an imagined Divine and vin- 
dictive yearning for the infliction of penalty on the trans- 
gressor. As I apprehend the subject, the atonement saves, 
not because it appeases wrath, but because it meets the 
Divine craving for righteousness. The Almighty is not to 
be regarded as an infuriated and exacting judge, destitute 
of mercy, reluctantly granting deliverance, only on condi- 
tion that somebody endures the punishment, but rather as 
a Father desiring the triumph of righteousness in the uni- 
verse, the supremacy of righteousness in His government, 
and the dominion of righteousness in the hearts of His 
creatures. The atonement is a measure of righteousness, 
righteous in its inception, righteous in its aim, and right- 
eous in its influence. Taking the place of the sinner, 
Jesus voluntarily submits to the retributive forces at work, 
which have been set in motion by transgression, and 
thereby vindicates the Divine justice, which has decreed 
pain as the consequence of wrong-doing; He lives the life 
of righteousness under awful conditions of suffering, and 
thereby satisfies the Divine yearning for righteousness in 
man; and being under no obligation, as He was essentially 
Divine in Himself, to fulfill the law originally imposed on 
humanity, being, in a word, greater than the law, and yet 
keeping it in circumstances of peculiar difficulty. He 
acquires a merit on account of which God can safely par- 
don the ungodly, especially as the influence of this atone- 
ment on the heart of the guilty race is such as to incline 
it positively toward personal righteousness. Thus, in a 
sense. He satisfies justice, in a sense bears the penalty due 
our sins, and yet not in such a sense as to countenance the 
view, against which so much indignation is expressed, that 
His suffering obedience was directly designed to glut the 
Divine vengeance. According to our theory, it will be 
seen that the death of Christ was in reality only the climax 
and completion of this atonement, that which gathered 


332 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


into itself, concentrated and expressed, the character, cir- 
cumstances and agonies of His life, and without which the 
life would have been inadequate to save. Moreover, I may 
be allowed to add, however strong at times the other and 
usual objections of our adversaries may appear, they are 
entirely destitute of Scriptural support. The Bible is not 
only in sympathy with evangelical thought on this subject, 
but also, as Rogers intimates, nine-tenths of it must be 
sponged out, and the mass of it be reduced to a caput 
mortuum of lies, fiction and superstition, to render it of any 
service on the other side. What such a carefully-dried, 
wind-bleached death’s-head of a Bible may testify cannot 
be of much value in shaping our views on this or any other 
topic. We have no heart for doctored evidence, and as 
the Oracles on which we rely for religious instruction sus- 
tain what is known as the orthodox theory of Christ’s 
death, we cannot but subscribe to it, and rest in it im- 
plicitly. 

It may perhaps help to justify this faith in the minds of 
some who are skeptical if I briefly show that, while in some 
aspects it is transcendently alone, it is essentially a higher 
and sublimer form of laws and principles that are opera- 
tive in human life and human history. I need hardly 
remind you that sacrifice is inseparable from progress. 
Wherever we see good achieved, we may rest assured that 
suffering has been endured; and, as a rule, they who enjoy 
the good are not those who endure the suffering. We are 
vicariously related to each other. Parents pay the price 
in toil and pain of those possessions which descend to 
their children; and patriots, explorers and investigators of 
one generation secure, at the cost of ease and pleasures, 
the advantages which enrich another. Ought it, therefore, 
to be thought a thing incredible for Jesus to purchase 
with His blood the spiritual benefits which we inherit? 
We think not, even though the operation of the principle in 


VICARIOUS SUFFERIN^G. 


333 


this case may in some respects vary from its usual action. 
Such deviation would not necessarily be a violation, and 
would naturally be determined by the nature of the inter- 
ests to be conserved, and would be justified by their im- 
portance. Furthermore, it should be remembered that we 
are all sin-bearers in the sense that the consequences which 
follow the deeds of one often pass over to another. You 
may quarrel with the rectitude of this arrangement, but 
do not forget that your quarrel is not primarily with the 
Bible; it is with Nature; for it is unquestionably a law of 
Nature. Whatever difficulty there is in it is not peculiar 
to the doctrine of atonement, but to the scheme of 
God’s government. Of its reality there can be no doubt. 
Your own lives bear witness to it, and it has frequently 
been illustrated in history. For instance, Carlyle shows 
how Louis XYI, himself a most blameless personage, had 
to bear the awful consequences of iniquities and oppres- 
sions committed by his ancestors and predecessors in his 
great office. They had trampled on the rights of the peo- 
ple, they had been selfish and cruel, and the result was a 
storm, whose fury spent itself on the head of their unfor- 
tunate descendant. The same may be said of the unhappy 
Charles I of England. He likewise was born in the evil 
days of retribution. If the tribulations which befell him 
had befallen his royal father, the vainglorious James, or 
his Tudor relatives, Elizabeth and Henry, we would have 
recognized the eminent fitness of the arrangement; but he 
was a worthy gentleman, believing too much in the divine 
right of kings, and was far from deserving the disasters 
which crushed him. The vices of former reigns prepared 
the ax by which he lost his head. As he had lived, so he 
died, royally. Marvell sings: 

“ He nothing did or mean, 

Upon that memorable scene, 

But with his keener eye 


334 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


The ax’s edge did try, 

Nor Heaven invoked with vulgar spite 
To vindicate his helpless right.” 

Ah ! if rulers have been compelled to suffer for the sins 
of -their sires, there cannot be anything very unreasonable 
or strange in Jesus bearing the curse of the law which the 
race has violated ! Of course, the cases are not precisely 
analogous, but they are sufficiently alike to show that the 
same principle underlies both. These kings paid the pen- 
alty unwillingly, Jesus willingly; He coming to meet it 
as it had to be met, from choice, and out of love for the 
perishing; and they suffered for transgressions past, but 
He for sin past, present and to come. The motive which 
iiffiuenced Him, the salvation of humanity, and the spirit 
that inspired Him, love for man, combined wdth the dig- 
nity of His person and the freedom of His volition, differ- 
entiate His sacrifice from theirs, and impart to it a meri- 
toriousness and, consequently, an efficacy which theirs did 
not possess. But they agree in this — that each bore what 
was due the guilt of others — and this agreement relieves 
the atonement from the imputation of fancifulness or un- 
reasonableness, while the difference exalts it to a station 
by itself and entitles it to the rejoicing confidence of a 
sin-burdened world. 


PART H. 

But the question will be asked at this point. How could 
pre-Christian communities have been saved, when no pro- 
vision appears to have been made for their redemption ? 
Christ’s death did not occur until the world had grown 
old, and if its atoning character is to be admitted, then it 
must follow that no one could have been delivered from 
sin and penalty prior to the Lord’s coming and the com- 
pletion of His suffering ministry. If the atonement is 
indispensable to eternal life, it is argued, there seems no 


THE FOUKDATIOJSr OF SALVATIOJST. 


335 


escape from the inference that all the unhappy multitudes 
who existed before the crucifixion must have miserably 
perished. This is the usual form of the objection brought 
against the doctrine I have attempted to defend, and its 
gravity cannot be disputed. That it is regarded as formi- 
dable is evident from the theories advanced by theologians 
and ecclesiastics in explanation of the difficulty. They 
conceive of an intermediate, purgatorial state in which the 
spirits of the pre-Christian populations were confined, and 
represent the Lord as descending among them, after His 
death, to proclaim redemption through His blood; or they 
fall back on a complicated and deeply mysterious doctrine 
of Divine decrees, which, assuming that a certain number 
from all ages are to be saved, irrespective of any endeavor 
on their part, accounts very easily, if not very satisfac- 
torily, for the eternal felicity of those who were ordained 
to live under a dispensation less spiritual than our own. 
I cannot, however, subscribe to these explanations, chiefly 
because I look upon them as unscriptural, and am con- 
strained to seek in a different manner an adequate reply. 
Such a reply I will attempt to give, formulated in three 
distinct propositions, the discussion of which will, I hope, 
lead to a satisfactory conclusion. 

I. The foundation of salvation is substantially the 
same in all ages. This is the first of these propositions — 
first in order of importance as in order of logic. Christ 
Jesus is uniformly presented by the New Testament 
writers as the world’s Redeemer. This dignity He shares 
with no other being in the universe, and to none other are 
sin-smitten souls directed to look. The apostle declares 
that there is one mediator between God and man, the 
man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all;” 
and with great boldness Peter taught: “Neither is there 
salvation in any other; for there is none other name under 
Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” 


336 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


God is said to have given Him for the world, and that 
‘‘He was in Him, reconciling the world to Himself.” That 
this gracious purpose contemplated more than the multi- 
tudes who should believe on Him subsequent to His ap- 
pearance in the flesh is evident from the fact that His 
atoning death is spoken of as having a backward as well 
as a forward efficacy. It is so represented as to create the 
impression that past, present, and future alike, partake of 
its merits and its benefits. Thus, in the Epistle to the 
Romans, we read that God hath set Christ forth “to 
be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His 
righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, 
through the forbearance of God.” And, similarly, in 
Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, it is stated that “for this 
cause He is the mediator of the New Testament, that, by 
means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions 
that were under the first Testament, they which are called 
might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” In 
both of these passages the reflex action of the Lord’s sac- 
rifice is made very prominent and very clear. According 
to their joint testimony the Savior dies, not merely to 
atone for the iniquities of the living and the unborn, but 
for the sins of the uncounted multitudes, who had already 
swept from the unseen across the bosom of earth to the 
unseen again. They make the cross the very center of 
hope, and regard it as comprehending in its saving pur- 
pose all generations as well as all conditions of mankind. 
The same idea seems to be involved in the comparison in- 
stituted between Jesus and Melchisedec, the latter of 
whom, being made “ like unto the Son of God, abideth a 
priest forever;” while the former “is a priest forever,” 
“made not after the law of a carnal commandment, but 
after the power of an endless life.” That is, “having 
neither beginning of days, nor end of life,” he perpetually 
intercedes for humanity. Take this thought in connection 


THE ATONEMENT RETKOSPECTIVE. 


337 


with Peter’s declaration, that the Lamb, by whose precious 
blood we are redeemed, was verily “ foreordained before 
the foundation of the world,” or as John put it, was “slain 
from the foundation of the world,” and you cannot fail to 
see in how wide a sense he “tasted death for every man.” 
{See I Tim, ii, 5; Acts iv, 12; Rom. iii, 25; Heb. ix; 
lleb. viiy 3, 16, 17; I Peter i, 19; Rev. xiii, 8, and Heb. 
a, 9.) 

This view is perfectly reconcilable with any proximately 
correct theory regarding the nature of atonement. If it 
is looked on as a compensatory measure, a quid pro quo 
principle, as a kind of equivalent of the penalty due the 
transgressor, it can readily be understood how it satisfies 
for moral debts already incurred rather than for those 
not yet contracted. That is, its retrospective action is 
more comprehensible to thought than its prospective. 
When one man undertakes to meet the liabilities of another, 
we have no difficulty in understanding the matter; but how 
shall we provide for obligations that may be dishonored in 
the future ? If it is said in reply that he can lay up in 
advance a contingency fund, while that is conceded, never- 
theless, it still remains true that the liquidation of exist- 
ing or past indebtedness is a simpler process than to 
arrange beforehand for the extinction of what is not 
already owed, and whose precise sum cannot accurately be 
computed. If a different conception of the atonement 
prevails, if it is conceived of as a magnificent demonstra- 
tion of righteousness, as a sublime exhibition of God’s 
attitude toward sin, designed to honor the law, and to 
provide for the exercise of mercy, compatibly with the in- 
tegrity of government, then the element of time can have 
little to do with its efficacy. As far as we can see, on this 
supposition its relation to the moral order of the universe 
would have been as completely served had it been offered 
at the dawning of human history, as at its noontide hour. 


338 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


Its delay for four thousand years could not in this respect 
have rendered it more potent, and the reason for its being 
thus deferred must be sought in another direction. The 
Bible alludes to the atonement as being effected “ once for 
all, at the end of the world,” or age, and as being pre- 
sented “in the fullness of time;” and we may infer from 
these declarations, that it was delayed on man’s account; 
that he might by a previous training be prepared to receive 
it, and that he might, through its historical connej3tions, 
be enabled to prove its reality. But whatever may be said 
in explanation of this point, one thing is evidently clear, 
that on any theory of the atonement, its sufficiency as a 
ground of pardon is not dependent on the time in which 
it became a fact of history. 

II. The means of salvation are virtually the same in 
all ages. Understand me, I do not claim that they were 
as ample, as transparent, or as complete prior to the advent 
of Christ as they have been since. They, like everything 
else, have been subject to the law of development, and 
have even made advances during the centuries that have 
succeeded the day of Pentecost. If truth is a means of 
grace, no one can doubt but that it is more widely spread, 
and more generally known in our age than it was in that 
of the apostles. We have more Bibles, and they are more 
diligently studied than ever before, and I do not think it 
is much to hazard, when I venture the assertion, that their 
meaning is more clearly discerned. But, while I grant all 
this, I must still insist that the means of salvation were 
virtually the same in ante-Christian times as they are at 
present. 

The evidence of this is furnished by our Lord Himself. 
On one occasion he said to the Jews: “ Search the Scrip- 
tures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they 
are they which testify of Me;” and in His conversation 
with the disciples after His resurrection it is related of 


THE GOSPEL IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. 


339 


Him that, “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He 
expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things con- 
cerning Himself.” During His farewell interviews He 
refers to the things “that were written in the law of 
Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms concerning” 
Himself. As the New Testament had no existence when 
this language was uttered. He necessarily had reference to 
the Old, and distinctly taught that it was designed to be a 
revelation of Himself. We know that the writings which 
we call “the Gospels” are full of Christ, of His person, 
and His work, and that they are the means by which we 
are led into all trutli concerning Him; but in these words 
of our Savior the same things are affirmed of the older 
Scriptures, and at their heart we are assured that the Gos- 
pel dwells, as a rich jewel may flash from the center of a 
curious, antique setting. This thought is also repeated by 
^ the apostles. Paul declares that the Jewish ceremonial 
was a shadow, of which Christ was the body; and sub- 
stantially states the same thing when he says that “ the 
law,” the ritual law, “ was our schoolmaster to bring us to 
Christ.” The rites observed by the Israelites were pic- 
tures, symbols, sacred hieroglyphics of the sacrifice and 
priestly functions of the one Mediator. They exhibited 
them to the eye, and constantly reminded the worshiper 
of the only way of approach to God. Once each year, on 
the solemn day of atonement, the mystery of redemption 
was enacted before the people, and encouraged them to 
hope for the approaching time when these foreshadowings 
should cease with the death of Him, “ who should put 
away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” In his letter to 
the Hebrews this same apostle, speaking for the Messiah, 
exclaims, “ Lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is writ- 
ten of me;” or, as the term “volume ” is sometimes ren- 
dered, “the head” — at the very beginning of revelation 
it is written of me. But what do we find then ? Turn to 


340 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


Genesis and read: “The seed of the woman shall bruise 
the serpent’s head.” And from the hour when this prom- 
ise was given we find repeated allusions, increasing in 
clearness, to the Messiah. The covenant made with Abra- 
ham, we are told, was a covenant in Christ. Of Him the 
psalmist sang, and to Him with yet greater directness 
Isaiah pointed, especially in that chapter where he minutely 
portrays His sufferings. Daniel also describes the coming 
prince, “ who should be cut off, but not for Himself;” and 
Malachi presents Him as suddenly appearing in the temple, 
or as rising like the sun with “ healing in his wings.” 
{See John v, 39; Luke xxiv, 27, J/S; Col. 17; Heh. 
Xf 7, 9; Gal. 7^, 17; Gen. in, 15; Isa. Hi; Ian. ix, 
26, and Mai. Hi, 2.) 

And thus, as in geology, we discern the footprints of 
the Creator, growing more and more distinct as we ap- 
proach the human period; so in Revelation the presence 
of Christ becomes more and more apparent as we draw 
near to the boundaries of the present era. The Gospel in 
the Old Testament and the Gospel in the New are but as 
the two pinions of the bird that bear its body high above 
the earth, exalting the Mediator before the eyes of the 
ages far beyond the range of the ceremonial and the 
formal. Nor are we to conclude that the Gentile na- 
tions were left wholly in the dark regarding the great 
principle underlying redemption. They also recognized the 
fact that it rested on an atonement. The idea was more 
or less corrupted among them, but nevertheless they dis- 
cerned it, and embodied it in their sacrifices. How they 
came by it no one can tell. The origin of bloody and 
vicarious offerings is lost in antiquity. Most likely it may 
be traced to some primeval revelation of which no record 
remains, and which spread with the dispersion of the race. 
But of its universality there can be no doubt. Even Vol- 
taire admits that “ among so many different religions there 


THE PRESENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 


341 


is none whose main object has not been propitiation. Man 
has ever felt that he needed pardon.” Nagelsbach treats 
at length of substitutionary offerings among the Greeks, 
and Caesar, writing of the Gauls, testifies that “they de- 
vote themselves to death,” as they believe that “unless 
life is rendered for life the immortal gods cannot be ap- 
peased.” Throughout Egypt the same doctrine prevailed, 
and the Hindoo Savior, Gautama, is represented as ex- 
claiming, “Let all sins that have been committed in this 
world fall on me that the world may be delivered.” Unto 
them, therefore, the essential principle of the Gospel was 
preached as well as unto us, although it was associated 
with other than the true and only victim. 

Nor were they totally ignorant of morals and of their 
authority. Blending with much that is degrading and 
polluting, we find in their writings many ideas that exalt 
and purify. So generally is this the case that we need no 
further proof of Paul’s declaration that “ What may be 
known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it 
unto them,” than these ennobling ideas furnish. 

But the means of salvation are not exhausted with the 
revelation of grace. That gift is supplemented by the 
influence of the Holy Spirit. While His ministry is more 
prominent and potent than in the past, let us not suppose 
that it was never knowm until the present. Among the 
Hebrews His presence was frequently recognized, and they 
as frequently implored His blessings. “Take not thy Holy 
Spirit from me,” was the cry of David, and that “ Holy men 
of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost ” is 
the testimony of the apostles. Divine interposition was 
also assured to the Jews by the appearance in their midst 
of that mysterious being, called the Angel of the Cove- 
nant. He it was who wrestled with Jacob, who spoke 
with Moses out of the burning bush, who led the people 
through the wilderness, who stood before Joshua at Jeri- 


342 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


cho, who encouraged Gideon, who blessed Manoah, and 
who was announced by Malachi. But the Angel of the 
Covenant spoken of by that prophet was none other 
than the Messiah. And it is now very commonly 
believed that He who in angelic form claimed to be 
the “I Am,” in whom was the Divine name, who, 
when He guarded the Hebrew children in the furnace, 
appeared like unto the son of man, was none other than 
the Logos, the Second Person in the sacred Triad. {See 
Gen. xxxii, 2Jf.-29; Exod. Hi, 2-Jf; Exod. xxiii, 

Acts mil, SO-53.) “ Lo, I am with you always, even unto 

the end of the world,” exclaimed the ascending Christ; 
and so was His presence with His ancient people some- 
times manifested, but ever felt by the influence of His 
Spirit. And when I read on the part of devout pagans 
the recognition of a superhuman and invisible guide en- 
lightening their judgments and affecting their hearts; 
when I recall what Plato says of Socrates, that he re- 
garded “ virtue as the fruit of a divine dispensation,” and 
what he says concerning his own conviction, that we are 
saved from temptation only by divine inspiration, I can- 
not believe that they were wholly destitute of heavenly 
influences. No; that Infinite Spirit, who is with us now, 
who revealed Himself to the Jews, I am sure had more to 
do with the high thoughts and with the noble lives of 
pagan worthies than is generally supposed. 

HI. Another and final proposition must be added to 
complete the outline of this subject; it is this: The condi- 
tions of salvation are practically the same in all ages. 
Are we commanded in the New Testament to repent? 
That is, are we commanded to hate our sins, turn from 
our sins, and devote ourselves to righteousness? Both 
these solemn requirements are as conspicuous in the Old. 
There we find God promising His favor to those who, 
having done wrong, return to Him with sincere contri- 


THE LIKEJ^ESS OF THE OLD AHD HEW. 34$ 

tion. Hence, David exclaims, The Lord is nigh unto 
them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of 
a contrite spirit.” Isaiah, as the mouth of God, pro- 
claims, “ To this man will I look, even to him that is poor 
and of a contrite spirit, and trernbleth at my word.” Nor 
was this penitence a mere form, as we may infer from 
these passages. The people were expressly commanded 
‘Go rend their hearts, not their garments,” “to seek good 
and resist evil ” and “ to do justly, love mercy and walk 
humbly with their God.” Nowhere is there exhibited a 
more intense passion for personal righteousness, or a 
deeper appreciation of its value than in the Old Testa- 
ment. The fiftieth Psalm is a comment on this ethical 
attitude; and whoever reads it must be convinced that 
God’s holy will was then guarded against the workers of 
iniquity, even as now the gates of the kingdom are closed 
against those who walk in the ways of evil. 

The Savior and His disciples not only preached repent- 
ance, they especially magnified faith as the source of 
righteousness, and as the one condition of eternal life 
which comprehended all the others. But Abraham is rep- 
resented as having exercised that faith, and throughout 
the Old Testament there is remarkable stress laid upon its 
value. “The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants; 
and none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate;” 
“ They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion 
which cannot be removed;” “Thou wilt keep him in per- 
fect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trust- 
eth in thee;” “The just shall live by faith,” are a few of 
the passages which enrich the prophetic pages, and illus- 
trate how closely the saints of antiquity were allied to 
those of more modern times. {See Deut. xxx, 1-5; Psalm 
xxxw\ 8; Isa. Ixvi, 2; Job xi, Uf., 15; Amos v, I 5 ., 15; 
Psalm XV ; Gal. ^v, 21-28; Psalm xxxiVy 17-22; Psalm 
cxxVf 1; Hah. m, 


344 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


It is not to be inferred that the faith that saved in the 
pre-Christian period was entirely identical with that which 
is now enjoined. If no other difference is discernible, 
this at least is apparent, that the Israelites ‘‘ believed in 
Him who should come after,” while we believe in Him who 
has already come. Their faith w'as prospective and pro- 
phetic, while ours is retrospective and historical. More- 
over, they must differ in another sense. The Jews could 
not see how all their hopes were to be fulfilled, how their 
scriptural shadows could be converted into realities, and in 
what manner Jehovah Himself would be associated with 
the perfecting of redemption. But all this is clear to us. 
In Christ all has been explained and manifested, and our 
faith thus grasps in its object the wondrous truths of 
eternal life. Yet in their essence there is an identity that 
must not be overlooked. In their last analysis they both 
recognize the Almighty as the supreme dispenser of spirit- 
ual gifts, and acknowledge that His saving grace is ren- 
dered available through an atoning sacrifice. 

May we not also believe that among the pagan nations 
many complied with these conditions ? “ Of a truth,” said 
Peter, “I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, 
but in every nation he that feareth Him and worketh 
righteousness, is accepted with Him,” — a statement I do 
not think he would have made, if all the pagans had 
perished. Paul indignantly disdains the imputation that 
he taught that Jehovah “was the God of the Jews only,” 
and in another place declares “that the same Lord over all 
is rich unto all that call upon him.” {^Acts x, SJf, 35; 
Romans 29; x, 12.') While it is not to be overlooked 
that these nations undoubtedly did corrupt their way on 
the earth, and never were as advantageously situated as 
the .Tews in regard to religious light, yet from these in- 
spired intimations we may believe that many of these 
people did call upon the invisible God, did mourn their 


CHRIST IS KOW OK HIS TRIAL. 


345 


waywardness, repenting of their iniquity, and did trust 
Him to provide an atonement for their sins. And if this 
was so, although they came far short of the standard now 
established, and though their faith differed from ours, even 
as the faith of the Jews likewise differed, and though from 
many points of view it may have been defective, yet it was 
faithf and as it led them to do what they could, according 
to the light that was in them, and according to the funda- 
mental principles underlying the scheme of redemption, 
we may hope to meet them in the heavenly glory, and to 
lift up our voice of praise in company with saintly pagans 
saved through the blood of the Lamb. 

Men and women, thus inadequately have I tried to set 
before you the significance and world-wide efficacy of our 
Savior’s death. Important reflections are suggested by 
our treatment of this theme; and among them not the 
least is the necessity for each man accepting Christ for 
himself. This is your duty. There must be personal reli- 
ance on His grace if there is to be personal salvation. 
What is to be your decision to-day ? Will you crucify 
afresh the Lord of Glory by persistent rejection, or will 
you accept Him and rest in Him forever ? The world is 
still very much like Calvary. As the Christ was there 
nailed to the tree and ridiculed, so here and now the 
atonement is mocked and derided. I would have the 
world like Heaven, where we behold a lamb as though it had 
been slain, adored and loved. There the slain Jesus — now 
alive, and alive forever — is the center of admiring millions. 
Here, likewise, as the atoning Lord, should He be trusted 
and gratefully worshiped. And if the anthem of the 
angelic and saintly hosts, “Worthy is the Lamb that was 
slain,” can only be converted to song in our poor human 
lives, Heaven itself shall begin below; and as the song is 
chimed by nations, tribes and kindreds. Heaven shall 
spread over all the earth, filling it with purity, peace and 


346 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


praise. Ponder the specific blessings which flow to the 
soul from His measureless grace and love. If motives are 
needed to quicken faith, look for them in those particular 
benefits which stream with His blood, and which fertilize 
and beautify man’s spiritual nature. What these are may 
be learned at the foot of the cross. They are revealed to 
us in the words which fell from Christ’s lips on Calvary. 
There spake He as never man spake, and in His exclama- 
tions, His petitions. His admonitions and ejaculations, we 
have unfolded the fullness of the Gospel. I call attention 
to these last sayings, not in the order of their utterance, 
but in the order of our experience, that you may perceive 
what His grace confers on the world. One of the most 
pathetic of our Lord’s sayings, and one that is full of mean- 
ing, is His cry, “I thirst!” Such is the condition of hu- 
manity — feverish with a thirst which the waters of shore- 
less oceans can never quench. In every department of life, 
amid the strife, competition, agitation and hurly-burly of 
society, these words ring out. Men are parched, consumed 
by insatiable desires, and panting as the hart after the 
water-brooks. thirst,” cries the politician, as he presses 
toward the spring of power; “ I thirst,” shrieks the money- 
getter, as he struggles toward the mine of wealth; “I 
thirst,” echoes the devotee of fame and the mad seeker of 
pleasure. They thirst; but they are never satisfied with 
the miry floods of whose fullness they try to drink. But 
He who suffered on Calvary, the smitten rock, yields the 
waters of life whereof if a man drink he shall never thirst. 
Religion satisfies our longings, tempers our desires, and 
imparts to us the secret of holy and perpetual calm. But 
it confers another gift. When in the supreme agony of 
His soul’s passion our Savior startled Heaven and earth by 
inquiring : “ My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken 
me? ” for a moment He seems to have experienced w^hat is 
the common lot of man, that alienation from the Highest 


MERC\' FROM THE CROSS. 


347 


which is his bitter inheritance. Many in this congrega- 
tion, while intellectually convinced of the Divine existence, 
know nothing of His presence or His influence. They are 
not conscious that He is near them, and that He is ready to 
help and comfort. To them God is a name, not a reality. 
But when Christianity is truly received, this separation 
ends. God dwells with, yea, in the believer, and he walks 
with Him in sweetest fellows-hip. The saint communes 
with Him, and rejoices that he cannot depart from His 
presence. This is, indeed, a great blessing, and one that 
deserves to be classed with the grace of pardon which also 
proceeds from the cross. Jesus prayed, as His eyes rested 
on His fierce and deadly enemies: “Father, forgive them, 
they know not what they do;” and that which He sought 
He now bestows; for He is exalted “to give repentance 
and remission of sins.” Is not this sense of pardon which 
is imparted to the conscience of the highest moment, and 
must it not tend to lighten the heart and brighten it with 
peace! Whoever looks unto Jesus shall receive this gift, 
and whoever receives it will feel a sense of new relation- 
ships formed between him and the world. This brings us 
to another of Christ’s suggestive sayings. He said to His 
disciple John: “Behold thy mother,” referring to Mary, 
and to Mary he said: “ Behold thy son! ” referring to John. 
This favored woman and this honored man were not bound 
to each other by the ties which these terms express, and 
yet he was to be to her a son, and she was to be to him a 
mother. Blessed grace of religion ! which lifts us above 
and beyond the narrow range of family, sect and nation- 
ality, and constrains us to recognize a brother, a sister, a 
mother, in every human being. Thus are we related to 
the world; thus all the earth becomes kin to the real child 
of God, and he seeks with parental tenderness to cherish 
humanity, and, with filial love, to serve and honor it. 
These are certainly great blessings — the thirst quenched. 


348 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


sins forgiven, God restored, humanity made sacred to us; 
and to these may be added others, those expressed in our 
Lord’s words, “It is finished,” and “Father, into Thy 
hands I commend my spirit.” The Master, when after the 
reign of darkness He cried out “ It is finished,” rejoiced 
to have emerged into light, and to have the evidence of 
His victory. Though on the cross and abandoned by men^ 
and having apparently failed. He clearly discerns that Ho 
has conquered. Thus man by nature is in darkness. He 
does not understand life, and he does not enjoy it. To him 
it is night, and he feels that it is at best a dreary failure. 
But when the light of lights streams in upon his soul; 
when he acknowledges Jesus, he realizes that the mystery 
is over, that he has discovered the secret of existence — 
that the problem is solved, and he, too, rejoicingly shouts 
“It is finished.” And, like his Savior, when the tragedy of 
time is over, and the grave opens its arms to receive him, 
he also shall see a Father’s face bending over him in love, 
and confidently be able to exclaim: “Into Thy hands I 
commend my spirit.” 

From our study of this doctrine we may likewise learn 
to cherish the thought that Christianity is not a novelty; 
that it is as old as eternity, in whose bosom it was born, 
and from whose mysteries it emerged. The forms it has 
assumed have varied with the necessities of the race, but 
its essence, like its source, is “ the same yesterday, to-day, 
and forever.” Hence we preach to you no new religion, 
born of yesterday, and perishing to-morrow; no religion 
fresh with the youth of two thousand years, but strong 
with the vigor of a dateless life. We preach to you no 
modern Savior, who first cared for humanity twenty cen- 
turies ago ; but one who was before the light, yea, one 
who was before the darkness, who reigned when anarchic 
chaos heaved its turbulent billows, and rested in the eter- 
nities long before the heavens were hung to vail His 


CHRIST ABIDES FOREVER. 


349 


glories. It is no novice that is exalted in thousands of 
pulpits as the world’s hope to-day, but One who has been 
gathering to Himself from every nation, from every clime, 
ever since Eden withered beneath the shadow of sin, a 
mighty company to be the witnesses of His grace forever. 
And if He has redeemed so many in the past, we may well 
believe that there is no condition, state, or degree now 
beyond the reach of His saving wisdom. He who could 
find a way to the pagan’s heart, who could penetrate the 
Jew’s exclusiveness, the Greek’s conceit, and the male- 
factor’s guilt cannot surely fail to rescue still the cultured 
and the ignorant, the high and the low, the righteous and 
the unrighteous. 

Let us not, therefore, judge our religion unworthily. 
Let us not lay undue stress on the perishable outward 
form, and magnify it above the unchangeable spirit. Let 
us not think of Christianity as though it were an experi- 
ment, or as though there were some things too hard for it 
to accomplish. There is no one in this congregation or in 
the world of whom we should despair as long as its grace 
exists; and there is no sufficient reason for fearing that its 
grace will cease. Having encountered so many perils, 
having overcome so many difficulties, having withstood so 
many enemies, we may well believe that it will advance 
forever. But should its outward forms decay, should its 
influence waver, should its churches be forsaken, its Christ 
would still abide. His work would still go on. The past 
is the guarantee that in the future He who has been the 
Savior of the ages will be their Savior to the end. 

“ He reigns above, He reigns alone ; 

Systems burn out and leave His throne ; 

Fair mists of seraf)hs melt and fall 
Around Him, changeless amid all! 

Ancient of days, whose days go on!” 


/ 


XXITI. 

THE EESIJEEECTIOX OF JESUS. 

Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me 
and see ; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. 
Luke 39. 

T O me there is no sight more pathetic than a new-made 
grave. The little hillock, covered with swift-wither- 
ing flowers, is to mourning hearts who have mortal treas- 
ures buried there a sublimer object than the Appalachian 
or Himalayan mountain ranges. It lifts our thoughts to 
Heaven, raises us to the unseen, and enlarges our spiritual 
horizon as the most towering of Nature’s rugged solitudes 
never can. The loftiest summits of the earth are sadly 
gloomy; for, after all our labor to attain them we but 
reach a region of rocky barrenness or of snowy cheerless- 
ness, and keenly feel that the end of the struggle is only 
waste and desolation. But a grave is sadder still. It is 
the mournful termination of human toil. There we behold 
anew the apparent futility of man’s careful scheming, hot 
ambitions, strenuous exertions; of his grasping, worrying, 
fighting, weeping, cursing, hoping and fearing. All are 
smothered in the dust; and the narrow charnel-house is the 
wretched, disappointing goal of much-promising and ever- 
alluring life. But of all the solitary sepulchers wherein 
have lain the bodies of the great or good, none have equaled 
the solemn melancholy of the lonely tomb excavated in the 
hillside near Jerusalem, where Jesus rested after his cruci- 
fixion. The mists of evening gathered gently around it; 
the soft-eyed stars and pale-faced moon gleamed tenderly 

350 


THE LORD IS RISEN. 


351 


upon it; the full-orbed sun glowed with cherubic splendor 
above it; the mail-clad soldier paused silently before it; 
while sorrowful ones in upper chambers, and in dark re- 
treats, thinking of it and of Him who slept within, whis- 
pered to each other, “We trusted that it had been He 
which should have redeemed Israel.” Ah ! what despair- 
ing grief these words reveal! Not all the sympathy of the 
night, nor the garish homage of the day, nor echoing clank 
of armed guard, could divert the distracted and despond- 
ing thoughts of the bereaved disciples from the expecta- 
tions which had been shattered by envious death, and 
from the dreams which had crumbled into dust. This to 
them was the end. The throne of their Beloved had dis- 
appeared in a tomb; His regal robes had changed to a 
dreary shroud ; His empire had shriveled to the narrow 
dimensions of a grave; and the grim tyrant grinned mock- 
ingly over the seeming discomfiture and failure of those 
gracious plans for man’s salvation, in which His followers 
had confided only to be deceived. 

Ah! weeping souls, be not faithless, but believing. Lo! 
from the distant South, with gleeful and giddy wing, the 
birds return, the fragile flowers, with radiant hues and 
aromatic breath, revive from winter’s cold embrace; and 
from fragrant climes the gentle winds come back, laden 
with odors sweet and quickening warmth: and thus may 
Jesus thrust aside the gateway of His clammy prison, and 
reappear to His rejoicing saints, bearing from the realms 
of the invisible sweet messages of immortal blessedness. 
And thus He came and thus He conquered; for, as the 
Paschal sun arose above the chill and fogs of somber night, 
filling earth with lustrous beauty, so on that morning 
Jesus ascended from the realms of death and dispersed the 
awful gloom that enshrouded the moral world. Thus He 
resumed His power, recovered His challenged rights, re_ 
gained His waning influence, reasserted His sacred gran- 


352 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


deur; and, answering thus His malignant and mean ac- 
cusers, sent echoing down the ages the blest assurance 
that there is something in the universe higher than its 
inexorable laws — namely, a Christ, who could not be 
holden of them, but triumphed over them. 

At this point began the victorious progress of the 
Church. She had found the explanation of the Cross, the 
interpretation of the shame, the meaning of the passion ; 
yea, and had obtained new insight into the mystery of 
death itself, and thus armed she could confront the world. 
Wherever she went she preached the resurrection. To it 
as a fact she constantly bore witness, and on it as a doc- 
trine she constantly dwelt. In it she discovered error’s 
antidote, sorrow’s consolation, virtue’s encouragement, 
and the mightiest force to quicken religious life. By it 
she carried conviction to multitudes on the day of Pente- 
cost ; through it she aroused the attention of the Gentiles 
to^the Gospel; and on it she rested her argument for per- 
sonal immortality. Whatever advantages she won, what- 
ever doubts she removed, whatever prejudices she de- 
stroyed, whatever fears she allayed, whatever hopes she 
revived and w^hatever dignity she achieved, she accom- 
plished through the power of the oft-repeated truth that 
‘‘ Christ was risen from the dead.” 

The efforts made by the Jewish enemies of Christianity 
and their Roman allies, to break the force of apostolic 
testimony concerning the resurrection, have come to be 
regarded as exceedingly ill-contrived and inconclusive. 
They circulated a report that soldiers who guarded the 
tomb slept at their post, and that, while they did so, the 
disciples stole the body. Such an account of the matter 
is absurdly weak. It is not likely that Roman sentinels 
would slumber at their post, and less likely that it would 
have been proclaimed, unless strong reasons existed for 
overlooking so serious a breach of discipline. But if they 


OBJECTIONS TO THE RESURRECTION. 


353 


slept, they knew not anything, and could not have known 
by what means the remains had disappeared. And how 
incredible the accusation that a band of craven men, who 
had abandoned their Master on the first approach of dan- 
ger, and who were as much interested as the rest of the 
world in having fairly decided the validity of His claims, 
should attempt a theft, which, if it failed, would cost 
them their lives, and if it succeeded, would yield them no 
satisfaction. There are circumstantial evidences which 
confirm this view. The grave-clothes were not only left 
behind, but they were carefully arranged, and it is not 
probable that vulgar plunderers, intent on deceiving, would 
have had sufficient nerve to unwrap the covering from the 
corpse, or would have taken pains to fold it so methodi- 
cally, with the waking of the sentry every moment immi- 
nent; nor is it conceivable that they would have run the 
risk of detection by bearing their dead burden through 
the country. It cannot, therefore, but be manifest to all 
that the reiterated assertions of priests and rulers were 
without foundation, and are only valuable as clearly 
showing in what sense the disciples were understood when 
they proclaimed the resurrection of our Lord. 

Dr. Hooykaas, in the Bible for Learners, teaches that 
“in the faith and preaching of the apostles the term 
‘resurrection’ simply denoted the Savior’s ascension from 
the underworld, into which the Jews believed the purest 
and most holy, without exception, must descend, to the 
heavenly glory ” ; and that “this is the reason why they 
never said that ‘Jesus rose from death,’ far less ‘from the 
grave,’ but always ‘ from the dead ’ — that is, from the 
place where the shades of the departed abide.’’ In other 
words, the apostles employed a Jewish mode of thought — 
a kind of theological idiom — to express what no one who 
believes in immortality will deny, “that, as a matter of 
course, Jesus, like all good and noble souls — and indeed 


354 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


above all others — would go straight to a better world, to 
Heaven, to God.” But certainly this was not the impres- 
sion made by their statements on their contemporaries. 
Had they been understood as reiterating the accepted 
doctrine regarding Hades and the future life, small cause 
would there have been for excitement in Jerusalem, and 
none at all for alleging that the body of Jesus had been 
stolen. The conduct of the authorities is inexplicable 
on the supposition that the disciples were not affirming 
something different from current beliefs, and something 
that derived considerable probability from the mysterious 
emptiness of the tomb. Their attitude is easily explained 
if it was being taught that the dead form had been resus- 
citated and reunited with the spirit. Hence we cannot, if 
we would, escape the conclusion that the disciples meant 
by the term under consideration an actual physical deliv- 
erance from death and the grave. 

This interpretation is likewise sustained by various rep- 
resentations given in the New Testament; in the text, for 
instance, where our Savior is seeking to remove the doubts 
of His followers. He is reported as saying, “Behold my 
hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me and see, 
for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have ” — 
language entirely at variance with the theory of Dr. Hooy- 
kaas. So also are the declarations that He was frequently 
seen during forty days, at one time by five hundred brethren ; 
that He was touched; that He ate and conversed. Neither 
can it be harmonized with the testimony of Peter: “The 
God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and 
hanged on a tree.” Moreover, it is strikingly irreconcilable 
with the effects of Paul’s preaching at Athens. The epi- 
cureans and stoics treated him and his doctrine with con- 
tempt. They would hardly have ridiculed him for holding 
to the immortality of the soul, as many of their own coun- 
trymen had advocated on philosophical grounds the same 


THE THEORIES OF RATIONALISTS. 


355 


hope. If we will only think of him as maintaining that 
Jesus did not see corruption, but rose triumphant from 
the tomb, as evangelical Christendom teaches to-day, we 
will readily perceive that a faith so contrary to what was 
accepted among them would naturally excite the mocking 
protest of philosophers. These considerations ought to 
convince us that the disciples meant to convey the impres- 
sion that Christ was actually restored to life, however 
insufficient the ground of their belief may have been. 

But it is claimed by various modern rationalists that, 
while this may have been the idea of the disciples, as 
there could not have been any corresponding fact, it must 
have been the result of some unhappy hallucination. 
Schliermacher essays to prove that the Lord never died at 
all, but fell into a trance, and, reviving from apparent 
death, unintentionally gave currency to the supernatural 
notion which is now a chief article of the Christian reli- 
gion. The destructive criticism of Strauss has swept away 
this hypothesis, and the more poetic conception of Renan 
has taken its place. He traces the delusion to Mary Mag- 
dalene, who, being once possessed with devils, was never 
free from an uncontrollable and vivid fancy, and who, in 
the excitement caused by the crucifixion, imagined that 
the Lord had risen from the tomb. This phantasy she im- 
parts to others, and they invest it with the form of history. 
Well may Renan exclaim, in view of her work, “Oh! Di- 
vine power of love, sacred moments, in which the passion 
of one whose senses were deceived gives to the world a 
God risen from the dead ! ” Of course, this theory implies 
a susceptible state of mind on the part of the disciples. 
They were so confused by the tragical events which they 
had witnessed, that they were prepared to accept any chi- 
mera which promised relief and consolation. Viscount 
Amberley tries to describe their mental condition in these 
words: “It is hard to realize, in fact, that a beloved com- 
19 


356 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


panion is in truth gone from us forever. Reason may tell 
us too distinctly that all hope of the return of the beloved 
one to life is vain and foolish. But emotion speaks to us 
in another language.” “Deep within us there arises a 
craving for the presence of our friend, and with it the irre- 
pressible thought that he may even yet come back to those 
who can scarcely bear to live without him. Were these 
inevitable longings not to be checked by a clear perception 
that they originate in our broken hearts, we should fancy 
that we saw the figure of the departed and heard his voice. 
In that case a resurrection would have taken place for us and 
for those who believe our tale.” And thus the disciples, 
moved by strong affection, pictured to themselves the form 
of the dear departed One, and their narrative, as Dr. Hooy- 
kaas has it, was but a chapter of their own inner life, not of 
the outer life of the Master. 

Keim supposes that the apostles had visions of the glori- 
fied Jesus produced by Himself, and that though the body 
remained in the tomb, these appearances were, as he ex- 
presses it, a kind of telegram, informing them that He yet 
lived. Renan’s explanation of the subject is interesting. 
“At the moment in which Mahomet expired, Omar rushed 
from the tent, sword in hand, and declared that he would 
hew down any one who should dare to say that the prophet 
was no more. . . . Heroes do not die. What is true exist- 
ence but the recollection of us which survives in the hearts 
of those who love us? For some years this adored Master 
had filled the little world by which He was surrounded, with 
joy and hope ; could they consent to allow Him to the decay 
of the tomb? No; He had lived so entirely in those who 
surrounded Him, that they could but affirm that after His 
death He was still living.” In the historical comparison in 
this account it is apparently forgotten that not one of the 
apostles insisted, as Omar did, that the Master was not dead. 
That sad fact they all admitted, and indeed they were slow 


MATTHEW ARNOLD. 


357 


to credit that He had been freed from the grave. They 
were not the sort of persons to be misled by such fancies 
and illusions as are favored by the French critic. That they 
did not intend to be understood as subscribing to such vaga- 
ries, may be inferred from what Matthew Arnold wrote re- 
garding Paul’s doctrine on the subject. The British Hellenist 
does not admit that Paul really knew his own mind, but that 
he sincerely thought he believed what he affirmed. Mr. 
Arnold writes: “Not for a moment do we deny that in 
Paul’s earlier theology, and notably in the Epistles to the 
Thessalonians and Corinthians, the physical and miraculous 
aspect of the resurrection, both Christ’s and the believer’s, 
is primary and predominant. Not for a moment do we deny 
that to the very end of his life, after the Epistle to the 
Romans, after the Epistle to the Philippians, if he had been 
asked whether he held the doctrine of the resurrection in the 
physical and miraculous sense as well as in his own spiritual 
and mystical sense, he would have replied with entire con- 
viction that he did. Very likely it would have been impossi- 
ble to him to imagine his theology without it. But — 

“ ‘ Below the surface stream, shallow and light, 

Of what we say we feel — below the stream. 

As light, of what we think we feel, there flows 
With noiseless current strong, obscure and deep. 

The central stream of what we feel indeed.’ ” 

That is, Paul thought that he thought one thing, but deep 
down in his heart and all unconsciously he thought another 
thing. But if Paul did not really know his own mind when 
describing the resurrection of Christ, how can Mr. Arnold 
eighteen hundred years after be so sure that he knows what 
passed in the apostle’s mind ? And what is of more direct 
interest, how can Mr. Arnold be sure of what is passing in 
his own mind when criticising Paul ? 


358 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


Perhaps the critic himself has a deeper depths and all 
unconscious to himself believes just the opposite to what 
he has written. This is as possible of him as of the 
servant of God whose psychological moods he treats so 
familiarly. And if it is true of either of them there is an 
end to all intelligent communication on this or on any other 
subject. Common sense will prefer to avoid so lamentable 
an alternative, and will not consent to involve itself in such 
a labyrinth of uncertainty for the sake of impugning the 
natural meaning of what Paul sets forth so lucidly. He 
according to Mr. Arnold did teach, and did intend to teach, 
that the Jesus who was slain rose bodily from the tomb and 
was seen by his disciples. No one has ever yet succeeded 
in resolving the narrative of this event into figure or myth, 
and failures in this direction go to prove that the evidence 
on which the event rests is unimpeachable. 

If any doubts exist regarding the objective reality of 
Christ’s resurrection, these visionary theories should effect- 
ually remove them. They are so strained, far-fetched and 
evasive that we would have to return to the Magdalene’s 
first estate to accept them. Indeed, it requires less credulity 
to receive the unvarnished story contained in the New Testa- 
ment, although it involves a miracle, than it does to believe 
these fantastic explanations, which, in their hot zeal to deny 
the miraculous, affirm the impossible and the ridiculous. 
That this criticism is not undeserved it may be well to prove, 
especially as it is generall}’ admitted, if the hallucination 
hypothesis is untenable, the view held, by the Church must 
be practically unassailable. 

In support of our criticism psychology may be cited. 
The science of mind teaches that illusions are not fortui- 
tous, but are determined by some ruling idea or absorbing 
desire. Back of the crazy beggar who imagines himself a 
millionaire, or of the fanatic who imagines that he is a 
sacred personage, are thoughts and longings indulged 


EVIDENCES OF THE RESUKRECTION. 


359 


through many years, which, growing morbidly intense, 
have ended in a mania. The so-called visions of the Maid 
of Orleans undoubtedly were born of a diseased mind, 
eng'endered by the condition of her unhappy country, and 
by her passionate yearning for a deliverer. But nothing 
of this kind accounts for the alleged illusion of the disci- 
ples. They did not expect the resurrection of Jesus. 
Even when He foretold it, they attached no importance 
to it, and do not seem even to have understood His mean- 
ing. They express surprise when it is announced, are slow 
of heart to believe the report, and even the women, taking 
spices to preserve the body, indicate that they were not 
anticipating any such event. Thomas, also described by 
Wordsworth as 

“A smooth-rubbed soul to which could cling 
No form of feeling great or small ; 

A reasoning, self-sufficient thing, 

An intellectual all-in-all,” 

at first stoutly refused to credit the testimony of his 
brethren, and only acknowledged himself convinced when 
doubt was no longer possible. This is not the conduct of 
men predisposed to illusion and sentimentality. They 
carried themselves as calmly, judicially and incredulously 
as we would were there a report in circulation that Presi- 
dent Garfield was risen from the dead. 

It is also worthy of note that five hundred of the disci- 
ples claim to have seen Jesus after His resurrection, 
together and under the same circumstances. Individuals 
separated widely by space or time have undoubtedly suc- 
ceeded in convincing others that they have been favored 
with visions of Christ or of the Virgin, and they to whom 
they communicated the fable may have wrought them- 
selves into the belief that they also had experienced some- 
thing similar; but it would be difficult to produce an 
instance where half a thousand of people imagined the 


360 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


same supernatural phenomenon, which in its nature ap- 
pealed directly to the senses, at the same moment and in 
company with each other. Such wholesale self-deception 
surpasses the limits of credulity; and when it is alleged 
we cannot but suspect that there is greater anxiety to 
defend a foregone conclusion than to ascertain the truth. 
And surely we can more easily believe the five hundred 
brethren than yield assent to a theory which involves a 
marvel surpassing in proportions that to which they wit- 
nessed. It is likewise surprising, if they were self-deceived, 
that they never found it out in subsequent years. They 
lived and died in the faith of the resurrection. Were we 
to imagine, in the excitement of our grief, that a loved 
friend had returned from the dead, the sober second 
thought would certainly dissipate the illusion, and none 
of us would think of asserting it in the teeth of persecu- 
tion. Judge Christ’s followers by yourselves. They never 
recanted, never wavered, and even fiery trials could not 
shake, their convictions, and it is only reasonable to con- 
clude that they were founded on reality. But if their 
steadfastness warrants this inference, their ability to con- 
vince others of the truth of that which they proclaimed 
heightens it to certainty. If they were deluded, how came 
they to delude thousands who were prejudiced against 
them and their statements? They could only have satis- 
fied the skeptical, unsympathetic multitudes by unim- 
peachable evidence, and that they were thus satisfied 
proves that just such evidence was on hand, and if it was, 
then the disciples were not the unhappy victims of a 
chimera. Voltaire, in his Dictionaire Philosophique^ lays 
down the following criteria by which the conclusiveness 
of testimony may be judged. He says that it is sufficient 
when it rests on 

“1. A great number of very sensible witnesses who 
agree in having seen well: 


THE RESURRECTION AND HUMAN LIFE. 


361 


2. Who are sane bodily and mentally ; 

3. Who are impartial and disinterested; 

4. Who unanimously agree ; 

5. Who solemnly certify to the fact.” 

Upon just such testimony the objective reality of the 
resurrection rests. The disciples were numerous enough, 
and sensible enough, and sound enough in mind and heart 
to shield them from imposition, and they had too much at 
stake, both for time and eternity, to mislead themselves 
or others. If we, therefore, allow ourselves to be guided 
by the rationalist, Voltaire, we shall accept the historical 
view, and repudiate, as unworthy of confidence, the hallu- 
cination theory which modern anti-supernaturalism, in its 
mad struggle for supremacy, would palm off on society, in 
defiance of the very laws of evidence which one of its most 
brilliant leaders has elaborated with so much care. 

I have thus been particular in explaining what the apos- 
tles meant when they spoke of the Savior’s resurrection, 
and in defending them from the charge of self-delusion — a 
charge which, in failing to substantiate itself, leaves the 
sublime event unchallenged — because of its place in the 
Christian system, and its relation to spiritual life and im- 
mortal hope. 

Its relation to human life — to its ideals and aims — is 
indeed of the highest moment. “ What advantageth it 
me?” is the passionate and solemn inquiry of Paul; what 
profit to expose my person, to endure shame, to contend 
with wild beasts and beastlj’ men if the dead rise not? By 
these sacrifices I am not saving men ; for there is no salva- 
tion ; and by this self-abnegation I am benefiting no one, 
for I am setting before all an erroneous ideal of happiness. 
If Christ rose not, then there is no immortality, and if there 
is no immortality, religion is a farce, and efforts to extend 
it, and particularly painful endeavors, are fruitless of real 
good. The true aim of life has been lost sight of: “Let 


362 JESUS THE world’s savior. 

US eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.” From this it 
would seem that in Paul’s opinion only one of two positions 
is tenable; either the doctrine of Christ or that of Epicurus. 
Strange as it may seem to you these are the real rivals, and 
we in the nature of things become attached to one or the other. 

The system of the Greek philosopher was not at the be- 
ginning the sensual thing it became later on. Originally it 
taught “ that the pleasure which produces no pain is to be 
sought ; and that the pain which produces no pleasure is to 
be avoided. The pleasure is to be avoided which prevents 
a greater pleasure or produces a greater pain. The pain is 
to be endured which averts a greater pain, or secures a 
greater pleasure.” Epicurus himself was a man of com- 
paratively blameless character, and his principles are not to 
be confounded with those of the sensual Cyrenaic school. 
Horace was one of his followers, and Lucretius extolled him 
as one of the gods, declaring that while “ Ceres gave men 
corn, and Bacchus wine, Epicurus gave to men the essen- 
tials of virtue.” 

The view taken b}’ this philosopher of death is thus ex- 
pressed : “Accustom yourself to the thought that death is 
indifferent ; for all good and evil consist in feeling, and 
what is death but the privation of feeling?” Harmless as 
these sentiments may appear on the first reading, experience 
of their working proved that they tended in the long run 
toward dissoluteness of conduct. Pleasure even in the high 
and refined sense intended by their author is not' the end of 
existence and cannot be pursued without resulting, as in the 
Roman Empire, in debasing lasciviousness. Such a supreme 
purpose renders ridiculous the history of heroism, and is 
irreconcilable with the idea of self-sacrifice. It obscures 
and even obliterates the conception of duty or restricts it to 
the sole design of ministering to self-indulgence. And in 
proportion as such an ideal dominates societ}*, selfishness, 
parade and egoism must prevail, and even charity become a 


THE LAW OF LIFE. 


363 


form of personal gratification, as when fashionable ladies 
propose that their children shall present gifts to the poor in 
a theatre before an admiring audience. 

Worship itself may be perverted by this subtle philosophy, 
and be so ordered as merely to satisfy the senses, quiet 
conscience, lull the apprehensions and drown suspicion of 
any ultimate responsibility for conduct. And yet w'hat 
more reasonable than that this should be so if Christ has 
not risen from the dead? 

For if He has not risen, we have no demonstration on the 
broadest stage that the real life, the true life, is the life of 
self-surrender and self-immolation. We may imagine that 
it is, and if we are sentimentally inclined we may experiment 
in that direction, but we have no assurance that we are right 
in our conclusion. The majority of our heroes and bene- 
factors have been persecuted, derided, slain ; and though 
sepulchres and monuments have in some instances been 
built to their memory, when the real nature of their service 
has almost been forgotten, not much encouragement is 
afforded by these posthumous honors for practical souls to 
imitate their example. 

The painful doubt yet remains as to whether it is wisely 
profitable to spend and be spent for others, and whether 
common sense justifies sacrifices that are rarely appreciated 
and that are not demanded by a Divine law which the 
Highest Himself has honored and proven to be the unfailing 
condition of the purest and most permanent good. The 
resurrection of Jesus has shown that such a life is not in 
vain. Had He remained in the tomb, not even His masterly 
beneficence would have given to Him the power He has 
exerted for these twenty centuries. Tliere would have been 
something lacking. The commanding majesty of His pres- 
ence would have been less, and the authority of His word 
and example would not have been as absolute in influencing 
human thought and conduct. If this is doubted, let the 


364 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


experiment be made of preaching a beautiful Christ, who has 
perished like others ; and unless the hearers have already been 
drilled to reverence by what has been repeated about His res- 
urrection, it will be found, that while they ma}" admire, they 
will not be overawed by the imperative authority of His career. 

The world craves the knowledge, not the guess, not the 
maybe, of what should be the real purpose of man’s being. 
How can he worthily exercise his faculties? What is his 
place among material magnitudes? Why is he on earth? 
And in what way can he fulfill himself? The open and 
abandoned sepulchre furnishes the answer. Jesus toiled, 
taught and submitted to temptation and tribulation for the 
race. It was said of Him “He saved others, Himself He 
could not save,” which was true enough with the exception 
of a single word. Substitute “ would ” for “ could,” so that 
the clause shall read “ Himself He would not save,” and you 
have disclosed the spirit of His ministry. Well, this self- 
denying Benefactor is thrust into a grave, and the life 
appears to have merely been a sweet poem in deeds but 
forever deprived of power. On the third day He rose from 
the dead. That simple but sublime fact changes everything. 
The Almighty has affirmed by this tremendous event that 
He is on the side of self-sacrifice, that He will always in the 
fullness of time justify it, that it can never be fruitless, and 
that though its marvelous potency may be hidden in a tomb, 
not merely for three days but for three centuries, it shall at 
last assert itself and prosper gloriously. Hence, in view of 
our Savior’s triumph, Paul was satisfied that it did advan- 
tage him to fight with beasts at Ephesus ; and hence, like- 
wise, as he closes his argument, he waves forever Epicurean 
ideals out of court, exclaiming: “Therefore, my beloved 
brethren, be ye steadfast, immovable, always abounding in 
the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor 
is not in vain in the Lord.” 

But beyond this there are three special benefits flowing 


POWER TO SAVE. 


365 




from the Galilean’s triumph over death that deserve to be 
distinctly noted and to be perpetually prized. 

First. Christ’s resurrection is a proof of His own per- 
sonal greatness. Paul teaches that b}’ it He was declared 
to be “ the Son of God with power” ; and Peter, in one of 
his sermons, affirms that “ God hath made this same Jesus, 
whom ye crucified, both Lord and Christ.” During His 
earthly ministry Jesus was constantly intimating wonder- 
ful things concerning Himself, assuming the loftiest pre- 
rogatives and exciting the highest expectations. He 
claimed to be “one with the Father”; to be both “ the 
Light and the Life ” of men ; he declared that no human 
soul could approach the Father save through Him ; but that 
through Him all the fallen children of Adam could attain 
unto everlasting life. He assumes to know men, — their 
thoughts, weaknesses, needs, — and to be abundantly able 
to fan “the smoking flax” of desire into a flame, and to 
draw the world — halting, reluctant world — unto Himself. 
Throughout His ministry He is continually saying, 

“ Dost not thou will, poor soul? Yet I receive 
The inner unseen longings of the soul ; 

I guide them turning towards Me ; I control 
And charm hearts till they grieve : 

If thou desire, it yet shall come to pass. 

Though thou hut wish indeed to choose My love ; 

For I have power in earth and heaven above. — 

I cannot wish, alas ! 

“ What, neither choose nor wish to choose ? and yet 
I still must strive to win thee and constrain : 

For thee I hung upon the cross in pain. 

How then can I forget ? 

If thou as yet dost neither love, nor hate. 

Nor choose, nor wish, — resign thyself, be still 
Till I infuse love, hatred, longing, will. — 

I do not deprecate.” 

In addition to these assumptions he claimed that He 


366 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


had come to found a heavenly kingdom, and that He was 
older than Abraham, and in Himself superior to the Law 
and the Prophets. But the climax of all these sublime 
representations, or, rather, their humiliating anti-climax, 
was the Cross and the Sepulcher. In contempt of Him and 
His lofty assumptions, they nailed Him to the tree, and 
wrote over Him the derisive words: “Jesus of Nazareth, 
King of the Jews.” Thus abruptly is His career brought 
to an end. The lips Jhat spoke such commanding words 
are rudely silenced, the hands that should have executed 
His mighty promises are mockingly bound, and the life 
that antedated the career of Abraham is violently termi- 
nated, and a tomb swallows up and covers with shame and 
ignominy the huge pretensions which at one time threat- 
ened to compel the allegiance of all Palestine. As we mark 
this inconclusive and inconsequential ending of a career so 
wonderfully benign and so wonderfully imposing we cannot 
but feel that something is wrong. Either the close is wrong 
— shockingly, outrageously wrong — or it is itself wrong 
in inception and conduct from first to last. Which ? 

The answer breaks upon us in the triumphant strains of 
His resurrection. Few of all the millions who have pene- 
trated the domain of death have returned to earth, and 
none of their own volition or through their own power; 
but of Jesus it is written that He had power to lay down 
His life and power to take it again, and, in thus triumph- 
ing over the universal victor. He reversed the decision 
of His judges, confounded His wretched adversaries, vin- 
dicated His essential glory, smote the realms of wicked- 
ness with consternation, and filled the courts of Heaven 
with joy. An apostle, contemplating this, declares: 
“ Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more,” and 
the Epistles mark His ascension to the right hand of the 
Father and His exercise of sovereignty Divine. When 
the sun begins to climb the eastern slopes, our thoughts 


THE KESUKRECTIOi^- BRINGS IMMORTALITY. 367 


are centered in its disk and radiance ; but when it has 
reached the zenith, we think not of it as an orb, but as 
light — as light bathing the globe and diffused through 
space. So we, like the sacred writers, are carried by the 
rising of the Sun of Righteousness to the zenith of His 
glory, and then we behold Him, no longer limited by space 
and time, but Omnipresent and Eternal — the Being who, 
as the light, “has nurtured with impartial love the many- 
changing ages.” 

Secondly. Christ’s resurrection is a pledge of personal 
immortality. Richter, desiring to invest atheism with its 
own horrid darkness, represents Jesus as returning to a 
group of shadows gathered in a church, and as saying: 
“I have traversed the worlds, I have risen to the suns, with 
the milky ways I have passed athwart the great waste 
places of the sky; there is no God. And I descended to 
where the very shadow cast by Being dies out and ends, 
and I gazed out into the gulf beyond, and cried, ‘Father, 
where art Thou?’ But answer came there none, save the 
eternal storm which rages on, controlled by none; and 
toward the west, above the chasm, a gleaming rainbow 
hung, but there was no sun to give it birth, and so it sank 
and fell by drops into the gulf. * * * Shriek on, then, 

discords; shatter the shadows with your shrieking din, for 
He is not I ” If this were true, well might we say of man, 
“That petty life of thine is but the sigh of Nature, or the 
echo of that sigh. Your wavering cloudy forms are but re- 
flections of rays cast by a concave mirror upon the clouds of 
dust which shroud your world — dust which is dead men’s 
ashes. A mist of worlds rises up from the ocean of death ; the 
future is a gathering cloud, the present a falling vapor.” This 
is a poet’s dreary dream. Christ’s resurrection is reality ! 
He did depart. He did return, and, returning. His very 
presence did proclaim that there is a Father’s heart in the 
universe, and that it beats in sympathy with the suffering 


368 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


and oppressed. As He emerged from the charnel-house 
He said, in substance: “Though the Father permitted the 
cross and the scourge, He was not unmindful of His Son; 
and though He may permit you to be tried and afflicted 
sore. He has not abandoned you, and in evidence of which 
witness my resurrection.” Yes, the resurrection is proof 
of a Providence which overrules the sins of men, which 
cares for the oppressed, and which will vindicate the right, 
if not in this life, then in the life to come. Of the cer- 
tainty of that immortal life the resurrection is the assuring 
pledge. Such a pledge we sadly need. The utterances of 
Mr. Mill, of George Eliot, of Mr. Conway and of Mr. Em- 
erson plainly show how insufficient is reason to solve satis- 
factorily the problem of existence. Left to the vague 
reasonings of our philosophers, our faith in immortality 
could never have been more than an aspiration ; but resting 
in Him who has said: “Because I live ye shall live also,” 
we look with confidence beyond this vale of death to those 
unseen hills on which the light of life falls forevermore. 

Thirdly. The resurrection of Jesus is a prophecy, and 
an interpretation of prophecy. It foreshadows our own 
deliverance from the grave. As He rose, so shall we. 
True, our mortal part shall see corruption, shall blend with 
the dust, or mingle with the waters of the great sea; but 
He who hath “all power in Heaven and in earth,” shall 
clothe “this mortal with immortality.” As the Master 
rose to fuller and grander life, so shall we; for “as is the 
heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.” As He 
rose suddenly, heralded by Angels and by trembling Na- 
ture, so shall we, “ in a moment, in the twinkling of an 
eye, at the last trump.” And as he led “ captivity captive,” 
so shall we at last triumphantly exclaim, “ O Death, where 
is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory?” But this 
glorious consummation is reserved to the time of His sec- 
ond advent, “for the Lord Himself shall descend from 


JESUS COMES AGAIN. 


369 


Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, with 
the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.’’ 
Do you ask, What is meant by this second coming? Let 
the Lord’s resurrection answer. If he rose actually, liter- 
ally, bodily, in that sense He went into Heaven, and only 
in that sense can He return. “This same Jesus, which is 
taken from you into Heaven, shall so come, in like manner, 
as ye have seen Him go into Heaven.” This is the testimony 
of inspiration; this is the logic of Christ’s resurrection. 
As by faith I behold Him departing to his glorious home, 
so by faith I behold Him, visibly returning to His earthly 
kingdom, and my prayer ascends, “Come, Lord Jesus, 
come quickly.” 

“ And when a shadow falls across the window 
Of my room, 

When I am working my appointed task, 

I lift my head to watch the door and ask 
If He is come; 

And the angel answers sweetly 
In my home : 

‘ Only a few more shadows 
And He will come.’ ” 

Brethren, it may be given to some of us to witness this 
great sight. But whether we shall be of them “who shall 
not all sleep,” or of those “ who sleep in the dust of the 
earth,” we may confidently believe, in the light of His res- 
urrection, that by His Spirit “ He will come again and re- 
ceive us unto Himself; that where he is, there we may be 
also.” Therefore, whether we sleep or wake, whether He 
comes to us and for us personally or spiritually, we may rest 
assured that He will hear us when we pray, 

“ Interpose 

No deathly angel ’twixt my face and thine ; 

But stoop thyself to gather my life’s rose, 

And smile away my mortal to Divine.” 


XXIV. 


THE ASOEXSIOX OF JESUS. 


“ And a cloud received Him out of their sight .” — Acts 9. 

F or forty days after His resurrection the great Galilean 
came and went on the earth, and then He rn^’^sterionsly 
disappeared. The open grave gave evidence that “He wdio 
had been dead was alive again,” and His sudden transition 
strengthened the conviction that “ He is alive forevermore.” 
Various expressive circumstances seemed to intimate the 
coming of a crisis or a consummation in His ministry. 
There was something in His interviews with His disciples 
that imparted to them the hush of expectant solemnity 
which usually heralds a radical change. His movements 
were more reserved than before His death, and His words 
were more condensed and commanding than in the former 
days of intimate intercourse. Errors are corrected, misap- 
prehensions removed, curiosity restrained, facts explained, 
instruction imparted, and all in such a way as to indicate an 
approaching event of supreme importance. This His com- 
panions must in some degree have realized, especially as He 
led them out of Jerusalem toward the Mount of Olives. 
Probably the little procession excited no attention as it 
passed the busy or the idle on the streets. The Master 
Himself most likely was invisible to all except His immediate 
followers, and their appearance or actions were not of suffi- 
cient significance to awaken public interest. Onward, there- 
fore, the meagre band pursued its way unnoticed, though 

370 


FINAL COMMANDS. 


371 


it was the advance guard of an army that should achieve 
the most notable triumph of the ages and dethrone both the 
religion and civilization of paganism. They crossed the 
Kedron and entered Gethsemane, where they may have 
paused to recall the awful agony beneath the olives on the 
night of the betrayal, and to meditate on the transcendent 
miracle which had delivered their gracious Lord from the 
power of death. But the}" do not tarry long ; for the sacred 
Presence leads them onward, on toward the humble town 
of Bethany, scene of precious memories — memories of 
friendship, and of sorrow, and of jo}’. Here the Savior 
halts. The hour has arrived. A subdued, reverent, and 
unutterably intense excitement takes possession of His hum- 
ble friends. Instinctively they must have apprehended the 
imminence of separation, and have been overwhelmed by its 
possible consequences to themselves and to the feeble Church 
so recently established among men. The Lord tenderly 
compassionates them, and He whose life had been a con- 
stant benediction raises His hands to bless. His divine lips 
murmur farewell words, and all ears greedily drink in their 
melody: “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in 
earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing 
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever 
I have commanded you ; and lo, I am with you alway, even 
unto the end of the world. gospel for all the 

nations through “ all the days” is His last bequest intrusted 
to the diligence and loyalty of His followers. They receive 
the solemn charge in silence ; and as they contemplate Him 
wrapt and spell-bound, their souls worshiping, they witness 
a marvelous translation. “ Earth loses its attraction, and 
the waiting and up-drawing heavens claim Jesus as their 
own.” 

“ A cloud received Him out of their sight.” 

In describing the manner of this separation, the language 


372 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


of appearance is employed. As there is in reality neither 
up nor down in the visible universe, even as there is no 
actual rising or setting of the sun, so in fact, strictly speak- 
ing, our Lord could not have ascended. To the eye it was 
as though He rose ; and the sacred writer was fully war- 
ranted in recording the movement as he does, saying, 
“ While they beheld. He was taken np,” and the literal 
occurrence is sufficiently expressed in the statements: “He 
was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of 
God.” “And it came to pass, while He blessed them. He 
was parted from them and carried into heaven.” (^Mark 
xvi^ 19 ; Luke xxiv, 51.) In this language we have simply 
an account of our Lord’s withdrawal from the earth, of His 
removal from human sight into the Unseen, where He now 
dwells, with the implication conveyed that His earthly limita- 
tions have been laid aside and the Divine glory completely 
and permanently resumed. It is, in other words, a repre- 
sentation that suggests the twofold possibility of His remain- 
ing in spirit with His Church on earth, while He lives and 
in incarnate splendor intercedes for His Church in heaven, 
thus filling all in all, even as He is Himself “the All and 
in all.” 

While the disciples could not have apprehended the full 
significance of the scene they witnessed, they could not have 
failed to realize, as the cloud enfolded the revered form, that 
the earthly and sensible communion between Him and them- 
selves had ceased. No wonder, then, that they stood mo- 
tionless, and followed Him with their eyes, as though they 
would see Him leave His cloudy chariot and hear the trium- 
phant shouts of angelic hosts, as they cry to the city that 
hath foundations, “Lift up your heads, ye everlasting gates, 
and let the King of glory enter in,” and would catch the echo 
of the challenge and reply: “Who is this King of glory? 
The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” 
Gently, however, is the sweet, ecstatic reverie disturbed by 


THK OBSCURING CLOUD. 


373 


attending angels. “Two men in white apparel” tenderly 
recalled the watchers to themselves, saying : Why stand ye 
gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken 
up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye 
liave seen him go into heaven.” Why gaze? Why stand 
dazed, wrapped in meditation, when a world lying in sin 
awaits your ministry? Why stand gazing, when the com- 
mand is on you to go^ and to go ever^ “ through all the 
days,” preaching? Why gaze irresolute, when the absence 
of your Lord is only a necessary condition to His being ever 
present with the “all power of heaven” to make your 
preaching His “all power” in earth? EnQugh for you to 
know that this same Jesus shall return, and that, until then, 
your duty and your honor lie in carrying out the great 
commission. 

“ A cloud received Him out of their sight”; and to many 
a weary and perplexed soul the cloud yet remains. To such 
souls the Ascension is inexplicable or meaningless. Though 
the Savior said, “It is expedient for you that I go away,” 
they fail to discern any gain whatever to the Church from 
His absence. They ask, How can it be best and needful 
that His bodily presence should be removed from us? 
Would we not be purer, stronger, braver, were He here to 
cheer us by His example and companionship? Would not 
sinners be more easily converted, could they see Him and 
hear His voice? Does it not look as though He had for- 
saken us, and as though “ Ichabod ” ought to be written on 
the altars of His kingdom? In •other cases, however, the 
separating cloud is not exactly of this character. Not, as 
in the former instance, does it rise from the sea of misappre- 
hension and misgiving, but rather fi’om the shallow tides of 
indifference and thoughtlessness. The Ascension is often 
regarded with doubt and suspicion as unnecessarily taxing 
credulity, because its vital relation to the world’s spiritual 
development and happiness is unappreciated. Nor is this 


374 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


the fault of the sacred writers. They certainly bear. ex- 
plicit testimony to the supreme importance of this event. 
When dwelling on the security of the saints {Romans viii), 
Paul reminds them that Jesus Christ is at the right hand 
of God, making intercession for them ; and in urging the 
Colossians to the highest life, he bases his appeal in their 
supernatural privileges : “If ye then were raised with 
Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is seated on 
the right hand of God” (m, 1). Peter, on the veiy com- 
mencement of aggressive Christianity, declared “ that the 
heavens had received Christ until the times of restitution ” 
{Acts 21)^ as though tlie latter consummation depended 
in some way on the withdrawal to the invisible glory. For 
which statement Jesus Himself prepares us when He says : 
“ Nevertheless, I tell j^ou the truth. It is expedient for you 
that I go away : for if I go not away, the Comforter will 
not come unto you ; but, if I depart, I will send Him unto 
you” {John xvi, 7). And in view of this language we are 
not surprised at Paul’s magnificent and exhaustive concep- 
tion of the Ascension and its significance : — 

“ Wherefore He saith, when He ascended up on high. 
He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. Now 
that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended 
first into the lower parts of the earth ? He that descended 
is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that 
He might fill all things. And He gave some apostles, and 
some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and 
teachers ; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of 
the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ ” {Eph. 
iv, 8-15). 

And if we shall only take to heart the far-reaching import 
of these Scriptures, we shall never contemplate the Ascen- 
sion with mere unintelligent wonder, nor regard it as tending 
to bewilder with its mysteries, while it fails to profit by its 
spiritual and practical bearings. 


The sacred heights. 


375 


The Ascension was necessary to the complete reve- 
lation AND REALIZATION OF THE SaVIOR’S GLORY. It WaS 
certainly the natural climax to a career that began with 
miracle ; and for Him who was born of a virgin to have 
passed into the unseen universe in any ordinary manner 
would have been to discredit the marvel of His birth. The 
incarnation seems to demand the translation : the mano:er, 
with its wondering shepherds, calls for the cloud with its 
rejoicing angels ; and the nativity without a father finds its 
legitimate outcome in immortal life without a grave. Such 
an existence must ascend, or it declines, and possibly in 
human esteem descends beneath the reality. There can be 
no conceivable occasion in Him for the reproach brought by 
Schiller against one who commenced his course with preten- 
tious boastings and ended in ignominy’, — 

“Thy life -that arrogated such an height 
To end in such a nothing ! To be nothing 
When one was always nothing, is an evil 
That asks no stretch of patience — a light end : 

But to become a nothing, having been ” 

That is indeed humiliating. But when Jesus appeared as a 
babe He was already on the heights, and His subsequent 
days and years were upward in their trend until He reached 
the cross ; and that which in the case of any other would 
have brought down is described as “ a lifting up from the 
earth,” and leads to a rising from the dead, which in its turn 
leads to the only permissible culmination — the enthronement 
on God’s right hand. Bethlehem is followed by the Mount 
of Olives, and the Mount of Olives by the Hoi}’ Hill of Zion ; 
and beyond that heavenly eminence even our imaginations 
cannot rise. Nothing, therefore, in view of our Lord’s mys- 
terious character and ministry, is more reasonable than the 
Ascension, an event that confirms His most exalted claims, 
and that opens to us fresh disclosures of His essential glory. 


376 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


When His enemies pretended to be outraged by His 
assumptions, He quietly asked them: “What if ye shall 
see the Son ascend from whence he came? ” In these words 
He affirms his preexistence, and foreshadows His more than 
restoration to former honor. He argues that His ability to 
convince the world of righteousness is grounded in the fact 
that “He goes to His Father”; and, following His cruci- 
fixion, He inquires, “ Ought not Christ to have suffered, and 
afterwards to be received into glory?” Peter takes up the 
theme and in reality answers the Master’s question when he 
declares that Jesus “ is gone into heaven and is on the right 
hand of God, angels, authorities, and powers being made 
subject to Him” {1 Peter Hi, 22). And the Apostle Paul 
in the same spirit assures the Philippians that ‘ ‘ God hath 
highly exalted Him and given Him a name that is above 
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should 
bow” (P/iil. ii, 6-11). These disclosures of our Lord’s 
dignity certainly increased the knowledge of His Church as 
to the rank and glory of her Head. Whatever she may have 
believed prior to His withdrawal from earth, she must have 
been convinced afterwards of His supreme power and author- 
ity in the universe. To attain unto this glorified state He 
had to depart ; for the conditions necessary to its realization 
did not exist here, and could not have been imparted with- 
out changing entirely the character of this dispensation. 
The earth is not the throne-room of the Divine empire ; nor 
could the seat of sovereign sway be moved here without 
ending at a stroke the entire movement of moral discipline 
that is transpiring here ; nor could angels with all their 
visible splendor, and the order, system, and perfection of 
being that pertain to the heavenly world, be transferred to 
a province in revolt without frustrating the grace that seeks 
to save the wicked by compassion, not overwhelm them by 
magnificence. After the era of probation ends, this mundane 
sphere will be prepared to receive its Lord. But then the 


CHRIST AFTER THE FLESH. 


377 


discord will be ended, and the government of glory will be 
in complete harmony with the renewed and purified globe. 
As this time had not been reached, and was far away 
when the Galilean rose from the dead. He could only, take 
possession of His own, and be acknowledged by all intelli- 
gences for what He is, by going away from us. He had to 
depart if He would reassert and reassume His glory ; and 
this reinvestiture had to take place before it finally could be 
revealed to man. 

But in addition to this I have no doubt that the withdrawal 
of the personal Christ has contributed largely to the world’s 
realization of His transcendent greatness. “Generally, ob- 
servation must cease before refiection begins,” is an opinion 
expressed by the late Canon Liddon and illustrated by him in 
an interesting and felicitous manner. “Jacob must awake 
from his sleep before he can reflect, ‘ Surely the Lord is in 
this place and I know it not.’ He must wrestle all nioht 

c? 

with the Angel, and even ask his name, ere he calls the 
name of the place Peniel, or can understand that he has 
seen God face to face, and that his life is preserved.” “ If 
Jesus is to be seen by His creatures in His relative and 
awful greatness, He must be withdrawn” (see University 
Sermons, pp. 292, 293). It is apparent to every reader of 
the Gospels that the disciples found it next to impossible to 
take the real measure of their Lord’s grandeur while He was 
with them in the flesh. Their estimates are halting and 
uncertain. Near the close of His life He pathetically' com- 
plains, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast 
thou not known me, Philip?” Their senses seem to have 
been so occupied that their mind was inactive or confused. 
But when the Presence was gone from before their eyes, 
then thought was stirred, and with what results Paul’s lan- 
guage indicates : “ Though we have known Christ after the 
flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more.” That is, 
no more after the flesh, but rather in all the fullness of His 


878 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


high divinity. Even as the significance of heroes and leaders, 
their excellences and achievements, need the perspective of 
the grave, so the essential glory of our Lord needed for its 
apprehension by mortals the distance of heaven’s throne from 
earth’s abasement. His human form. His complete identifica- 
tion with the race, His submission to the environments that 
condition the movements of mankind, His hunger, weariness, 
and death, in short, His human limitations, must necessarily 
have added obscurity to His extraordinary claims. 

Travelers have sometimes found a visit to the Holy Land 
damaging to their faith in His Deityship. The intense vivid- 
ness imparted to His manhood by familiarity with the locali- 
ties He sanctified has served in some degree to diminish 
their sense of His Godhood. And if this is the effect, even 
in some instances, of contact with scenes connected with His 
career and ministry, how much more difficult must it have 
been for the disciples, who had associated with Him in all 
of His poor earthly surroundings, to have believed, without 
wavering, that this wonderful being, circumstanced as a creat- 
ure, was Himself the Creator ! The lifting up of the Master 
to His throne in the universe, with all that this exaltation 
implies, was the clearing of all doubt and perplexity. Faith 
no longer stumbled. And now, beholding Him on the right 
hand of the Father, it is comparatively easy for the devout 
mind to think of Him after the manner of Browning, chang- 
ing only the tense of his picturesque portrayal from the future 
to the present. 

“ So there crowns Him the topmost, ineffablest, uttermost crown ; 

And His love fills infinitude wholly, nor leaves up nor down 

One spot for the creature to stand in ! ” 

The Ascension was likewise necessary to the con- 
tinuous PROGRESS AND POWER OF THE SaVIOr’s WORK. 
When on the cross he exclaimed, “It is finished,” the long 
struggle out of which grew our redemption was indeed 


OtJU REPRESENTATIVE. 


379 


ended, but its efficacy was not yet acknowledged. To 
employ the figurative language of grace, “ the price was 
paid,” but it had not been accepted. The full recognition 
of all that He had done was not made until “He led cap- 
tivity captive.” When the Father said, “Sit Thou at My 
right hand till I make Thine enemies Thy footstool, and let 
all the angels of God worship Him,” then was it made mani- 
fest throughout the universe that His interposition on behalf 
of sinful man was owned above and had prevailed. The 
Ascension was therefore a stage, and an indispensable stage, 
in the development of the merciful measures adopted for 
man’s salvation. It is never to be forgotten that Jesus was 
the representative of the race when He w^as on earth, and in 
all things acted for it, and that this relationship He still 
sustains. He died for us ; and He now lives for us. Hence 
Paul, referring to the hope that reaches within the veil, says, 
“ whither Christ our forerunner has for us entered” {Heh. 
vii, 20). In Hebrews 24) it is also written that “He 
has entered into heaven itself, to appear in the presence of 
God for us ” ; and the same writer lays stress on His “mak- 
ing intercession for us” {Rom. viii, 34). As our Repre- 
sentative, He claims for us all the fruitage of His travail of 
soul and sacrifice. He goes in advance into the heavenly 
glory and by His own merits makes good our right to the 
gift of the Holy Ghost, and to all other gifts necessary for 
life and godliness, and to the possession of the promised 
inheritance. Through His Ascension we receive the assur- 
ance that His advocacy of our cause has not been in vain. 
As the nobleman who had gone to obtain a kingdom. He has 
received one, and is there preparing a place for us, and by and 
by He will come again and induct us into our own. Thus it 
becomes evident that part of the redemption work had to be 
wrought out in another world than this. We may not fully 
understand why it is so ; but that it is there can be no rea- 
sonable doubt. The withdrawal, therefore, -of our Lord is 


380 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


but an additional and a magnificent step in that preordained 
order of events by which the deliverance of man from sin 
and death is to be achieved. 

It is worth}’ of observation that this progress of our Lord’s 
work is distinguished by certain features that add greatly 
to its power. Remember that He took with Him into the 
heavenly glory the body He had worn in the days of His 
humiliation. Changed in some respects it undoubtedly was, 
but in essentials it was the same. In doing this He honored 
and dignified the human nature He had borne, and forever 
lifted it out of its degradation. The meanest wretch that 
crawls, the basest hind that serves, can look up to the 
eternal throne and see there his own nature crowned and 
exalted. It is the beginning of self-respect in the vicious 
and shameless, and it is the awakening of hope ; for if 
what the Ascension reveals is actual, what may not be 
possible? If the humanity of our Lord- is thus magnified, 
why may not the order of intelligences it represents rise 
to a share in its immortal privileges? To this possibility 
Christianity owes much of its influence in the world. It has 
abolished rank, caste, and class, and has proclaimed the law 
of solidarity and the duty of brotherhood. “ What God 
has cleansed that call thou not common ” is the decree of 
our faith, set forth at the beginning and perpetually working 
its way out in fellowships, equalities, and fair fraternities. 
And in proportion as it has been put into practice, and in 
proportion as the unity and sanctity of life have been 
realized, obstacles in the way of the Cross have been over- 
come and its mission has been successful. What also adds 
to this saving power is the fact that Jesus has not forgotten 
us in His changed and exalted state. That He took our 
nature with Him has exerted an elevating power over us, 
but that He has not forgotten those whom He has left 
behind -in their condition of sin and sorrow has greatly 
increased His hold on the affections of all hearts. He 


THROUGH ALL THE DAYS. 


381 


remembers us. Though He is crowned and we may be 
disgraced, though He is rich and we are poor, though He 
has all and we are yet struggling to attain. He is not puffed 
up or oblivious of our existence. He is the most brotherly 
of beings. Not a day passes but He thinks of us, and there 
is not a cry on our lips but He heeds. He watches over us, 
pleads for us, and is not ashamed to call us brethren. Let 
the princes of the earth be proud, and the money potentates 
be haughty, and let them suddenly forget their indigent 
friends. Thus hath littleness done from the beginning. 
But greatness is never unmindful of the lowly days and 
lowly associates, and ever sanctifies the former by reverent 
and grateful memories, and the latter by loving recollections 
and generous recognitions. Christ thinks of us in heaven 
as much as He did on earth, and the consciousness that 
He is mindful of us in His triumphant glory has perhaps 
greater power over the heart than His tender solicitude had 
while He was yet in His “ body of humiliation.” 

Thus far I have referred exclusively to the- unfolding of 
the Savior’s redeeming work, and not at all to its dissemina- 
tion or extension. And yet this is a form of progress that 
ought not to be overlooked, and one that depended for its 
efficiency in no small degree on the absence of the visible 
Christ. As we have seen, the gospel was to be preached to 
all the nations, “through all the days,” and beginning at 
Jerusalem it was to be carried to the uttermost parts of the 
earth. This great commission has in some degree been 
complied with, and in this age it is being fulfilled as never 
before. Evangelical effort has been continually enlarging 
its circle, and its rippling floods are breaking on distant 
lands and on the remotest tribes and races of mankind. 
But we can hardly conceive such ever widening endeavor 
and influence to have been possible had Jesus remained in 
this world, necessarily localized and, in a sense, material- 
ized. Then, all who might hear the message of salvation 


382 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


would have been dissatisfied until it had been confirmed by 
His lips and its promises ratified by His personal assurances. 
If received at all, the multitudes would have to throng the 
highways, crowding on each other, and evangelization would 
be impeded, not advanced. As it is, everywhere, every place, 
whether in Christian or pagan lands, the Lord can be found. 
He is spiritually present and can hear the cry of the soul as 
well in Africa as in Palestine, in London as in Jerusalem, and 
by the flowing tides of the Rhine as well as by the waters of 
Jordan, and by the inland seas of America as well as by the 
Lake of Galilee. In existing circumstances this is readily 
apprehended and appreciated, but it would be hard to 
convince the nations, were Jesus reigning in the flesh at 
Jerusalem or at Rome, that He would give heed to prayers 
breathed from the antipodes. 

Moreover, were He thus enthroned in splendor, salvation 
would cease to be of faith and would necessarih' be of sight. 
He would at all times be visible to those who desired to see 
Him. The opportunity would be lost for the exercise of 
trust. Nay, being within reach and resplendent in dignity, 
the privilege of cross-bearing would cease. There would be 
no place for sacrifice, and no occasion for going “ without the 
camp bearing His reproach.” There would be no reproach 
to bear. The object of the dispensation of grace is to develop 
all that is noblest, purest, most heroic and disinterested in 
the human soul. This end is served, or at least facilitated, 
b}' the absence of Christ. For as it is, if His name is pro- 
fessed, it is in the face of difficulties, and with the certainty 
of burdens to be carried and of hostilities to be encountered. 
There was room for moral heroism and devotion when He 
was in Palestine, “ the man of sorrows and acquainted with 
grief,” but there could be none, or none conceivable by me, 
were He there again, only enthroned in glory and environed 
by angels, the supernatural being subject to His will. In 
these altered circumstances no one would be called on to 


THE TWO DISPENSATIONS. 


383 


die for Him or to suffer for Him, and the very type of char- 
acter redemption was inaugurated to realize would gradually 
perish, and humanity sink to the level of mediocre morality 
and respectable commonplace. 

But, further, the Ascension was necessary to the con- 
stant SPIRITUALITY AND SERVICE OF THE SaVIOR’s ChURCH. 
As the Jewish economy was abrogated, a new institution 
appeared among men. The one gave place to the other; 
but the second was not a reformed continuation of the first. 
The dispensations are not identical ; for they do not agree 
in membership, observances, or aims. The}?' are distinct and 
separate. The Mosaical economy was national, ceremonial, 
and educational. Its citizenship was determined by the flesh, 
and its direct purpose was to build up a state, a religious 
government, it is granted, but one where salvation, as we 
understand the term, was incidental, not the principal object 
of its existence. On the other hand, the Church, as the 
organ, the executive and visible expression of His King- 
dom, is composed of regenerated individuals, and seeks 
an ever increasing spiritual fellowship, that religious power 
ma}’ be continually generated, through which souls may be 
converted and the conquests of redemption be multiplied. 
It was not an easy task to reconcile the people of our Lord’s 
times to this ideal. Indeed, it was hard for them to under- 
stand it, and harder still for them to appreciate its impor- 
tance. The primitive Christians evinced a disposition to 
challenge its soundness, some of them distnrbing the peace 
by reactionary movements toward Judaism; and since their 
day frequent have the lapses been from its demands. What 
has been done toward its realization has been accomplished 
through the ministry of the Holy Ghost ; and Jesus as good 
as declares that His own continuance on the earth in the 
flesh would hinder the success of this mission, and that it 
was therefore expedient that He go away, for if He went 
not away the Spirit would not come. 


384 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


Why the action of the one Divine Agent was dependent 
on the withdrawal of the other Divine Agent may not be 
easy to explain. Yet, if we frame the statement differently, 
the difficulty may not prove insuperable. Why was it 
necessary that the Spirit dwelling in Christ without measure 
should be emancipated from the limitations of His humanity 
and be set free in the earth for the idea of the Church as a 
spiritual fellowship to be converted into a realit}"? The 
answer is evident ; for in no other way could the conception 
so readily be carried out. Naturally the kind or character 
of the supreme ministry determines the character of the 
dispensation called into being by it. If the latter is to be 
broad, comprehensive, universal, subjective rather than ob- 
jective, consisting more in life and in heart experiences than 
in rites and ceremonies, then it follows that its Author must 
be unconfined by locality or other environment, and must by 
the terms of His high nature be able to be everywhere, 
working in any one and every one at the same moment. The 
Alabaster box must be broken for the fragrance of the 
precious spikenard to fill the house, and the body of the 
Redeemer must be removed if the Spirit is to fill the earth 
with the power of His grace. Judging from analogy, 
though it must be admitted the materials at our disposal are 
not of the best, we find wherever the Church has professed 
the possession of a visible infallible head in the w^orld she 
has deteriorated toward Jewish ceremonialism. When she 
has been most fully convinced that the Pope was unerring in 
counsel and unimpeachable in action, she has become more 
and more attached to forms and rites, more and more secular 
in her aims and methods, and less and less inclined to direct 
communion with God. 1 confess the analogy is not perfect, 
for none of the long line of Rome’s chief shepherds can 
compare with the Lord Jesus Christ either in wisdom or 
conduct. But there is enough in the principle to show that 
prominence given to the local, the personal, and the carnal. 


CHRISTIAN SERVICE. 


385 


constituted as we are, is generally, if not inevitably, gained 
at the expense of the spiritual. Nor can we well see how it 
could be otherwise, even if the leader or representative were 
entirely irreproachable in character ; and even if that repre- 
sentative were the Savior Himself who should reign in 
external majesty, we do not see how the evil could be 
averted. At least the constant temptation would be to 
conform each little congregation to the outward magnificence 
of the ruling King, and the effort to do this, and even the 
very thought concerning it, would have a tendency to deaden 
religious feelings and to produce a cold, stiff, and heartless 
worship. 

Better far, then, is it that our Lord should absent Himself 
than by His corporeal presence impede or imperil the veiy 
ideal He is seeking to actualize in His Church. And better 
far is it, likewise, that He should remain away for a season, 
when, strange as it may seem. His exaltation in the heavens 
seems to exert an advantageous influence on Christian 
service. 

The Ascension appears to render more manifest the need 
that exists for such service. A decided change came over 
the disciples with the removal of their Lord. Whereas they 
had been timid, hesitating, and irresolute, when they are left 
to themselves they become bold, decided, and aggressive. 
The sense of their responsibility evidently grows upon them 
as they meditate on their orphan condition. While Jesus 
was with them, they could safely leave Him to do everything ; 
but, now that He has departed, if anything is accomplished 
they themselves must undertake the work. A similar trans- 
formation has often been observed in children. During the 
life of their father they may have given no signs of self- 
reliance nor of capacity adequate to their own support and 
guidance. They have simply trusted, and trusted implicitly, 
to the wisdom and energy of the devoted parent. But on 
his death, and the withdrawal of his presence, they have 


386 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


come to feel unmistakably that henceforward they must 
depend on their own resources ; and they have in many 
instances surprised their acquaintances by the sagacity and 
practical thoroughness they have displayed. There have 
also been instances of churches, who leaned so heavily on 
the pastor, and confided so completely in his ability to care 
for the Lord’s cause, that they contented themselves with 
the arduous duty of criticising everything and doing nothing. 
And yet when they had crushed their willing leader, had 
killed him by their apathy or constrained him to leave them, 
they have suddenly startled the communit}' by the many- 
sidedness and multiplicity of their activities. Verily, the min- 
ister’s death was more necessary to them in the circumstances 
than his life. I am afraid, in our present situation and ham- 
pered with present infirmities, were our Lord on earth we too 
would “ stand gazing,” would be anxious for a sight of His 
excellent 'majesty, and would be so confident of His ability 
to make His enemies His footstool that the great commission 
would be neglected, and we deprive ourselves of the spiritual 
gains to our own character which accrue to consecrated and 
faithful labor in His name. As it is. He being gone, while 
we know we are dependent on His gracious assistance, the 
conclusion is forced on us that His kingdom cannot survive 
if we fail to toil incessantly on its behalf and for its 
advancement. 

Then the Ascension, also, seems to remove an obstacle to 
the efficiency of Christian service. Have 3^ou ever thought 
how profoundly anxious you would be for your Lord’s safety 
were He in person among you to-day, society being what it 
is, defiantly godless and intolerant of rebuke ? It is almost 
incredible that after the suppression of the Dragon, the 
unveiling of judgment thrones, and the triumphant reign of 
the righteous, there should be an outbreak of wickedness 
and the marshaling of Gog and Magog in hostile array 
against the camp of the saints. And yet is not all this 


JESUS BEYOND DANGER. 


387 


written in the Book of Revelation? {Chapter xx.) This 
revolt against the supremacy of goodness is one of the 
strange contingencies enwoinbed in future years. Even 
when Right is most securely guarded, when it is most 
radiant and resplendent, and when its authority is nowhere 
publicly challenged or debated. Wrong raises the banner of 
rebellion and breaks out in immeasurable anarchy against 
its government. Would it be otherwise were Jesus in the 
flesh once more, making His home with the children of men ? 
Not very likely. Unless He were to “cut short in right- 
eousness ” existing human conditions and characteristics. He 
would be assailed in our streets, would be requested to leave 
politics and the liquor traffic alone, and if He presumed to 
collide with the interests of selfishness and vice He would 
be hounded in our market-place or gibbeted in our jails. 
He would find as little favor in Chicago or in Boston as He 
found in Jerusalem ; and how the thought of this would 
hamper the movements of His friends ! They would invol- 
untarily neglect their duty as the messengers of salvation 
to the r^ice, in their desire to shield the person of their 
Beloved from the snares and schemes of His enemies. As 
it is, they are not paralyzed by these apprehensions and the 
necessity for these precautions. He is in heaven. What- 
ever may happen to the disciples, the Master is safe. No 
evil can befall Him, and this conduction nerves them to 
greater exertion. However the battle may go to-day, the 
Captain is be3’ond danger, and lives and must live, even 
after temporary disaster to His arms, to reorganize His 
forces and to direct their march to final and permanent 
victory. 

I am persuaded that the Ascension supplies, likewise, an 
important stimulus to Christian service. In reality it is 
not lacking in motive power. John writes that the hope of 
seeing the Lord by and by constrains us to purify ourselves 
even as He is pure. {1 John Hi, 3.) And Peter exclaims. 


388 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


“ Whom having not seen, ye love ; in whom, though now 
ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeak- 
able and full of glory.” (i Peter i, 6.) Surely from these 
words we are to infer that His absence is not without its 
compensation in stirring up a longing to behold Him and 
to so live now as to inherit His approval when we shall 
meet. The. soldier in the field or the sailor on the vessel’s 
deck, away from friends and loved ones, though when at 
home he may have been careless of their wishes and com- 
mendations, is followed by their faces, and in his loneliness 
a new desire is born, a desire to be worthy of them. He 
expects to return, expects to be greeted bj* them, and he 
cannot bear the thought of going back in dishonor. The 
separation of Christ from His people acts in a similar way 
on their zeal and devotion. He is not here ; shall we not 
then be more earnest and faithful than we would be were He 
walking in the flesh by our side? We must in a little while 
render to him an account of our stewardship ; shall we not 
then keep our house in order for His inspection? The first 
meeting, the decisive meeting with Him cannot be long 
delayed. Are we willing to be asleep when He shall sum- 
mons us into His presence? No; the more we meditate on 
the significance of His Ascension we shall perceive, not only 
its inevitableness and its gracious purport in many ways, 
but its relation to every manly and saintly instinct, and 
moved thereby we shall desire to toil nobly for the well- 
being of the world He has enriched with His blood. 

“A cloud received Him out of their sight.” That cloud 
has disappeared from the heavens, and they who saw it gaze 
no longer on the shadow, but rejoice in the fullness of the 
light. They now behold His face, and know even as they 
are known. And soon whatever of darkness may envelop 
these mighty themes shall be dispersed, and we too shall 
enter on the glory of an eternal day. In a little while the 
cloud of death shall receive us and bear us to His sight ; or 


THE PILOT AND THE BAR. 


389 


the clouds shall form His chariot once again and bear Him to 
His own on earth. Either way mystery thresholds eternity, 
and we can but wait and pray that, however dense the haze 
that intervenes, we may surely find Him just beyond. In this 
mood the Poet Laureate evidently was when he penned what 
proved to be his funeral hymn ; nor can I conceive of a truer 
expression to the soul’s thought and longing as it contem- 
plates the unseen. At least I — thinking of the Savior who 
has ascended, and of the hour when through the clouds of 
mystery I shall rise to meet Him, that I may forever be with 
Him — find the music in my heart to sing : — 

“ Sunset and evening star, 

And one clear call for me ! 

And may there be no moaning of the bar, 

When I put out to sea, 

“ But such a tide as moving seems asleep. 

Too full for sound and foam, 

When that which drew from out the boundless deep 
Turns again home. 


“ Twilight and evening bell. 

And after that the dark ! 

And may there be no sadness of farewell. 

When I embark ; 

“ For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place 
The flood may bear me far, 

I hope to see my Pilot face to face 
When I have crost the bar.” 


XXV. 


THE MESSIAHSHIP OF JESUS. 

We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the 
Christ . — John i, 41. 

S UCH was the joyful announcement made by Andrew to 
his brother, Simon Peter. It implies prolonged expec- 
tation, ardent desire, tireless research, and satisfying and 
complete assurance. We will readily appreciate the de- 
light of Andrew, if we will only remember that at the time 
of his discovery the Jewish nation was anxiously looking 
for a wonderful Deliverer — the Messiah, or God-anointed 
One, the Prophet greater than Moses and to whom Moses 
bore witness, and a King grander than David, and of 
whose sufferings and triumphs David sweetly sang. It 
was this anticipation which Zacharias regarded as on the 
eve of fulfillment when John, his son, was given to him in 
his old age, and which he celebrated in the exultant words, 
“The Lord hath visited and redeemed His people;” and it 
was this longing which inspired the song of Simeon, and 
the thanks of Anna when Mary presented the infant Jesus 
in the temple. A former generation had turned its eyes 
with hope toward Simon Maccabaeus, as one still earlier 
had toward Zerubbabel: but the error was soon most keenly 
felt, and the attention of the people, influenced by proph- 
ecy and by political disasters, had gradually centered in 
the period which witnessed the origin of Christianity. The 
belief that Malcha Meschicha was then about to appear 
was so general that impostors, some of whom are men- 
tioned by Josephus, were encouraged and actually deceived 


THE DESIRE OF ALL KATIONS. 


391 


many; and it was so well known that various Roman 
authors alluded to it. Suetonius wrote in the Life of 
Vespasian “An ancient and constant tradition has ob- 
tained throughout all the East that in the Fates it was de- 
creed that about that time some who should come from 
Judea would obtain the dominion of the world;” and 
Tacitus, when referring to the prodigi-es which preceded 
the destruction of Jerusalem, said that “ many understood 
them as forerunners of that extraordinary person whom 
the ancient books of the priests did foretell should come 
about that time from Judea and obtain dominion,” Thus 
the knowledge of Israel’s hope was current among the pa- 
gans and aroused their curiosity, not unmingled with sus- 
picion and apprehension. 

But the Jews are not the only people who have cher- 
ished the faith that the Invisible and Infinite would be 
revealed in some glorious Being on earth who should bring 
moral and physical disorder to an end and restore what 
Virgil calls “Saturnian” days again. The Egyptians 
longed for a living manifestation of the hidden God, and 
taught that He would be the child of Isis; the Chinese 
looked for a Coming One who should be the Truth itself; 
and in the sixth century, B.C., Confucius said, “He would 
arise in the West;” the Goths craved an Odin who should 
sympathize with human sorrow and travel from city to 
city, comforting and healing; the Greeks, as is recorded in 
one of the Platonic dialogues, determined to “wait for 
One, be He a God or an inspired man, to instruct us in 
our religious duties, and, as Athene says to Diomed in 
Homer, to take away the darkness from our eyes;” and 
the Romans shared in these anticipations, as is proven by 
the famous eclogue of Virgil, in which he erroneously 
greets the new-born son of Pollio as the destined restorer 
of happiness: 


392 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


The base, degenerate, iron offspring ends, 

A golden progeny from Heaven descends. . . . 

See, laboring Nature calls thee to sustain 

The nodding frame of Heaven, and earth, and main ! 

See to their base restored, earth, seas, and air, 

And joyful ages from behind in crowding ranks appear. 

— Dryden^s Translation. 

Traces of a similar belief are to be found even among 
the Indians. Dawson, in his Fossil Men, represents 
them as having “traditions of a great benefactor, a teacher 
of arts, and introducer of humanity and civilization. 
Among the Peruvians he is Manco Capac; among the 
Mexicans, Quetzalcoati; among the Crees, Gepuchican; 
among the Micmacs, Glooscap; and the Iroquois form of 
the tradition forms the basis of Longfellow’s ‘Hiawatha.’” 
He is described as a “ benevolent hero, or demi-god of the 
olden time, who has left the world or been spirited away, 
and is to return.” It would seem, then, that these yearn- 
ings have been well-nigh universal, and, such being the 
case, it must follow that they are not only the outgrowth 
of the soul’s deepest needs, but are of sufficient significance 
to warant the inquiry as to their ever having been met 
and fulfilled in any great historic personage. 

Christianity claims that they have, and asserts that 
Jesus, the Prophet of Nazareth, is the Being, and the only 
Being, who has realized in Himself the expectations of 
Israel and the visions of all other nationalities. He Him- 
self assumed to be Messiah, the “Son of the Blessed.” 
While He did not do so in a way to create public excite- 
ment and foment revolt against constituted civil authority. 
He never hesitated, at proper times and under fitting cir- 
cumstances, to announce Himself as the predicted Anoint- 
ed One. When the woman of Samaria said to Him, “I 
know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ,” He 
saith unto her, “I that speak unto thee am He.” The 


THE MESSIAH OF THE BIBLE. 


393 


confession of Peter, to the same purport, He accepted, and 
added, “Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, 
but my Father which is in Heaven.” When He was sol- 
emnly questioned by Caiaphas as to whether He was the 
Christ, the Son of God, He answered, “Thou hast said.” 
And thus He stakes His standing in the judgment of pos- 
terity on the righteousness and truthfulness of this declar- 
ation. He challenges investigation at this point, and is 
willing to abide the decision of candid scrutiny. 

But He is not willing to be tried by the standard which 
Rabbis and Scribes had invented. He appeals continually 
from tradition and current opinion to the Scriptures. 
“Search the Scriptures,” He says, “for in them ye think 
ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of 
Me.” And after His resurrection, “beginning at Moses 
and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the 
Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” This was the 
only safe and satisfactory method; safe for Him, and sat- 
isfactory to all who desire to test His claims. The Old 
Testament, to which he referred, had been translated into 
Greek by the order of Ptolemy Philadelphus nearly three 
hundred years prior to his birth, and consequently was 
familiar to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews, and no one 
could have had opportunity or motive, or could have found 
it practicable, to have interpolated it in favor of Himself. 
Upon its testimony, therefore. He could securely stand; 
and to its predictions we can with confidence appeal ; and 
if we shall find that Jesus in all essential respects fulfilled 
its Messianic prophecies — prophecies, remember, which 
were in circulation at least three hundred years before His 
appearance — we may feel assured that He is in truth the 
Messiah of God, “the Desire of all nations.” 

In pursuing this investigation we should first consider 
the outer circumstances of Messiah’s life, as foretold by the 
prophets, and the correspondences which are met with in the 


394 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


surroundings of Jesus, as described by the evangelists. 
He was to be of the seed of Abraham, and of the house of 
David. Through the royal line, to the Father of the 
Faithful, His human origin was traced. {Genesis xviiy 7/ 
Psalms cxxxii, 11.) The New Testament writers insist that 
Jesus was thus descended; and Paul argues that He is the 
seed of Abraham and that the covenant was confirmed in 
Him four hundred and thirty years before the giving of 
the law. ( Galatians Hi, 16; Acts xiii, 23; Romans i, 
3.) It was likewise predicted that the Messiah should be 
born of a virgin, Isaiah exclaiming : “Therefore, the Lord 
Himself shall give you a sign : Behold, a virgin shall con- 
ceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Imman- 
uel.” (Isa. viii, 21/..) You hardly need to be reminded 
that the Gospels chronicle the fulfillment of the sign, rep- 
resenting Mary as the maiden-mother of our Savior. The 
time of His birth, as well as its manner, was also definitely 
fixed by the inspired writers. It was to be before the 
destruction of the temple, because the Promised One was to 
enter the sacred house; and His appearing there was to be 
heralded by a Divinely appointed witness : “ Behold, I will 
send my messenger, and He shall prepare the way before 
me, and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to 
tiis temple.” “And I will shake all nations, and the 
Desire of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house 
with glory.” (3fal. Hi, 1; Haggai ii, 7.) This mes- 
senger was undoubtedly John the Baptist — “the voice 
that crieth in the wilderness,” as Isaiah describes him, and 
to whose fate at the hands of Herod Josephus the historian 
refers. When Jacob lay dying, and his prophetic eye 
rested on the future, and as his fatherly hand rested on 
his son’s head in blessing, he said : “The scepter shall not 
depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, 
until Shiloh come, and unto him shall the gathering of the 
people be.” ( Genesis xlix, 10.) It is generally admitted 


THE EVIDENCE OF CHRONOLOGY. 


895 


by expositors that this prediction announced the coming of 
the Prince of Peace, and at a time when the national life 
was hastening toward extinction. We know it was during 
the stormy evening of Israel’s existence, fast hastening to 
night — to night of threefold blackness, and apparently 
without morning — that Jesus entered on His sacred min- 
istry and gathered the people to Himself — great gathering, 
which has continued unceasingly ever since. Then it was 
that the days of the temple were numbered, when the light- 
nings of wrath were preparing to smite its pride, from whose 
stroke it would nevermore recover. Taking these signs as 
a guide, one thing is evident : either Jesus is the Messiah, 
or no Messiah has ever toiled and taught among men. 

But the chronology is even more definitely fixed by 
Daniel. In the second chapter of the book which bears 
his name he traces the course of empire from the Chal- 
dean monarchy to the Roman, and declares that, during 
the period occupied by the latter — that is, from 31 B.C. 
to 476 A.D. — the God of Heaven would set up a kingdom 
in the earth. The origin of this kingdom is further par- 
ticularized in the eighth chapter, where it is written : 
“ That from the going forth of the commandment to restore 
and to build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah, the Prince, shall 
be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks”; to which 
is added another week, in the midst of which He shall 
cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. It was com- 
mon among the Old Testament writers to speak of years 
when employing the term “days.” Thus Moses said of 
Adam : “All the days that Adam lived were nine hundred 
and thirty years.” Laban is also represented as having 
fulfilled a week, and this week is identified with seven 
years. The prophets, such as Ezekiel, are instructed that, 
in the mystic chronology which they are to use, each day 
is to stand for a year. Daniel’s vision we read in the light 
of these explanations. Seventy weeks of days — a day for 


396 


JESUS THE WORLD^S SAVIOR. 


a year — gives us four hundred and ninety years. The 
decree referred to the restoration of Judah from the Baby- 
lonish captivity, and was issued by the Persian Kings. 
Proclamations were issued by Cyrus, and afterward by 
Darius ; but the one which was most complete and which 
gave permission to rebuild, was that which bore the name 
of Artaxerxes, and which is by many scholars dated B.C. 
453 (see Hengstenherg and Hof man). Take this figure as 
our starting point, four hundred and eighty-three years 
after the Messiah should have been manifested. Now, 
Jesus was baptized at the age of thirty, and if we add to 
this four hundred and fifty-three, we have exactly four 
hundred and eighty-three, leaving one week, or seven 
years, in the midst of which He was cut off, but not for 
Himself, during which the covenant was confirmed to the 
Jews — that is, to them the privileges of the Gospel were 
practically confined — and at the end of which they were 
formally extended to the Gentiles. Thus the four hundred 
and ninety prophetic years were accomplished. It is incon- 
ceivable that the agreement which I have pointed out 
should be other than Providential ; it is too complete to be 
fortuitous, and its striking exactness convincingly points 
to Jesus as the Messiah. 

To these outer circumstances might be joined others of 
a nature hardly less decisive, such as the birthplace and 
the temporal condition of the Promised One. Let it suffice 
that he was to be born in Bethlehem, and that his rank was 
to be with the poor of this world {^Micah -y, 2) — predictions 
which we have in previous discourses seen fulfilled with 
sad accuracy in the life of Jesus. Thus obscurely did He 
appear among men, and thus destitute did He pursue His 
weary way to the grave. But these melancholy external- 
ities need not be considered further, especially as there are 
other, and, in my opinion, more conclusive evidences to be 
scrutinized and weighed. 


THE MESSIAH OF PROPHECY. 


397 


The character of the Messiah, as well as His circum- 
stances, was a theme on which the prophets frequently 
dwelt. He was painted, not from memory, but from 
inspired anticipation, and it might well have been doubted 
whether the original of such a picture would ever appear 
in the earth. So like a baseless ideal, an impossible hope, 
a fiction of the imagination does it seem, that we know not 
which to admire most — the brilliancy of the conception or 
the boldness of the men who expected it would be realized. 
These men portrayed a Being who should be called “Won- 
derful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting 
Father, the Prince of Peace,” on whom should rest “the 
spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel 
and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of 
God,” and whose “ righteousness should be the girdle of His 
loins and faithfulness the girdle of His reins.” ■ They rep- 
resent Him as unostentatious, sympathetic and compas- 
sionate, saying : “He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause 
His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall 
He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench;” 
yea, they go farther, and declare that “He shall come 
down like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water 
the earth”; that “in His days shall the righteous flourish, 
and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth”; 
that “He shall deliver the needy when he crieth, the poor 
also, and him that hath no helper”; and that “He shall 
spare the poor and needy, shall redeem their souls froni 
deceit and violence, and precious shall their souls be in 
His sight.” They describe Him as guileless, as inoffensive, 
as patient and submissive under oppression, as zealous in 
the work of God, and being a King, as just and lowly. 
[Isaiah ix^ 6j ^c^, 5; Ixii, S; liii, 7, 9/ Psalms Ixxi, 9/ 

Ixxj Zechariah ix, 9.) In these and other Scriptures we 
have the portrait of One in whom all heavenly and earthly 
excellencies coexist, who combines with the intelligence of 
20 


398 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


God, the sensibilities of man, who unites the wisdom of the 
sage with the courage of the hero; and who strangely 
blends in one spirit the meekness of the lamb with the 
temper of the lion. Well is He called “Wonderful” for 
greater wonder than this ideal is not possible to thought, 
unless it be its yet more wonderful realization. 

But where shall such realization be found? We sit 
before the picture, and, fascinated by its sublimity, we in- 
quire, “Where, where is the original? Where is the 
Being who shall venture to assert that it is His own like- 
ness?” The question is not unanswered. Out of the 
depths of eighteen centuries Jesus replies as He did to the 
woman of Samaria, saying to us as to her, “I that speak 
unto thee am He!” “Search the Scriptures,” He ex- 
claims, “for they testify of Me!” Of Him! Can it be 
that these ancient men depicted Him ? Can it be that He 
was the supreme object which they tried so enthusias- 
tically to paint? He says so, and says it calmly, firmly, 
and even modestly. But this is too grave a matter to rest 
exclusively on His own word. What is the testimony of 
those who knew Him best, and who were in every way 
qualified to give righteous judgment? We must be satis- 
fied on this point, for our souls are at stake. We are 
either leaning on a broken reed, or on the strong arm of 
the Son of God. Which ? 

To the evangelists. His immediate followers, we turn 
for help, and lo! the character they ascribe to Him as his- 
toric we find to be the actual counterpart of what we have 
seen was prophetic. Jesus of Nazareth was as gentle as 
the dawn, as pure as the light which penetrates the 
poisoned atmosphere of our globe without being tainted, 
as immeasurable in wisdom as the heavens are in expanse, 
as tender as the dew which refreshes the drooping flower, 
and as unostentatious; for, like the dew. He sinks unob- 
served into the heart which He blesses. He was a chorus 


THE TESTIMONY OF PORPHYRY. 


399 


of all the virtues, and their voices blended in Him and 
were yet distinct and answered each other in sweet anti- 
phony. His graces were orchestral, through whose varied 
movements the diapason of holiness ran, His sympathy and 
mercy being as bright and swift as an allegro, and His 
righteousness and justice being as measured and marked 
as an adagio. He was likewise grave, grand and mys- 
terious. He was a Being whose horizon seemed to be 
the infinite; yea. He seemed to be overarched and under- 
arched with eternities. His moral stature was so great, so 
commanding and august, that His disciples were constantly 
amazed, and praised Him as men struggling with a work 
beyond their compass. If you read not this in the Gospels, 
you read in vain. If you read not there His human per- 
fectness, blending with the Divine completeness, you fail 
to grasp their manifest import; and all unprofitable and in- 
conclusive will your study of their testimony be, if it does 
not lead you to exclaim, with Montgomery: 

“But who shall paint Him? Let the sweetest tone 
That ever trembled on the harps of Heaven 
Be discord : let the chanting Seraphim, 

Whose anthem is eternity, be dumb ; 

For praise and wonder, adoration — all 

Melt into muteness, ere they soar to Thee 

Thou sole perfection ! theme of countless worlds.” 

But that He has fulfilled in His character the Messianic 
prophecies, is substantiated by others than His followers. 
Eusebius, for instance, preserves this fragment from the 
‘‘Philosophy of Oracles” by Porphyry, who was born 233 
A.D., and who wrote against Christianity: “What we 
are going to say, may perhaps appear to some a paradox, 
for the gods declared Christ to be a person most pious, and 
become immortal. Moreover, they speak of him honor- 
ably.” He adds that Apollo thus answered a question 
touching the Lord’s divinity: “That he who is renowned 


400 


JESUS THE WOKLD’S SAVIOE. 


for wisdom knows that the immortal soul continues after 
the body; but the pious soul of that man is most excell- 
ing.” Nor do I hazard much when I affirm that infidels 
with few exceptions confirm the justice of this testimony ; 
and, while rejecting the orthodox conceptions of our Sav- 
ior’s Godhead, have conceded enough to prove His 
Messiahship. The prophets said the Messiah would be 
righteous, meek, gracious — a moral marvel among men, 
and to whom would be given the name “Immanuel;” and 
infidels admit the blamelessness, the unwavering upright- 
ness, the lowliness — according to Celsus, lowliness ex- 
cessive and abysmal — and the inexplicableness of Jesus, 
whom in their perplexity they salute, though with a mean- 
ing of their own, as Divine. That is, they call him, “ God 
with us,” though they do not agree with Christians as to 
the manner of God’s being with us in Him; and thus to 
the utmost, and really without intending any such thing, 
they corroborate the Gospels and prove that Jesus, as far 
as character is concerned, was the counterpart of the Holy 
Son of Israel, to whom the prophets bore constant witness. 

We come now to a third and final line of evidence. 
Not only were the outer circumstances and essential char- 
acter of the Messiah foreshown by prophecy, but His 
career was likewise traced. Jeremiah predicts the slaughter 
of the infants and Hosea the calling of the Promised One 
out of Egypt, implying that to escape the sword in Judea 
He had been carried into an alien land. {Jerem. xxxi, 15 j 
Hosea xi, 1.) Celsus, as quoted by Origen, admits that 
Jesus was in Egypt, but claims that “He was obliged to 
serve there for hire, and there learned certain powerful 
arts for which the Egyptians are renowned.” His inter- 
pretation of the fact does not at present concern us, only its 
certitude. But to continue. Isaiah gives an adequate idea 
of Christ’s ministry in the words: “The Spirit of the Lord 
God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to 


PROPHECIES FULFILLED IH CHRIST. 


401 


preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to 
bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the 
captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are 
bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and 
the day of vengeance of our God ” — a ministry which the 
same prophet declares should open in Galilee. i^Isa. Ixi, 
1, 2; ix, 1, 2.) In these discourses we have already seen 
that this was the spirit of our Lord’s ministry, and that 
He commenced it in “Galilee of the nations.” Moreover, 
it was foretold by Moses that Messiah should be a prophet; 
by David, that He should preach in parables; by Isaiah, 
that He should perform miracles; and by them and others, 
that He should bear reproach; should be rejected by His 
countrymen; should be betrayed by a friend; should be 
abandoned by His disciples; should be sold for thirty 
pieces of silver; should be a sufferer — a man of sorrows 
and acquainted with grief, and a suft'erer for others; should 
be nailed to the cross and derided, and, having been put 
to death, should rise again, ascend to Heaven, and reign 
as King in Zion forevermore. {Dent, xviii, 15; Psalms 
Ixix, Ixxviii, 2; Isa. xxxv, 5^ 6; Psalms xxii, Ixix, 7-20; 
xli, 9; Iv, 12-15; Zecli. xl, 22; Psalms xvi, 10; Ixviii^ 18; 
lx, 1; ii, 6.) The Gospels record the complete accomplish- 
ment of these predictions in the life of Jesus; and in this 
series of sermons their conversion into His history has been 
carefully traced. We need, therefore, at this point, con- 
sume no time in repeating what has already been shown, 
and with which the most superficial reader of the New 
Testament is familiar. The pre-natal biography of the 
Messiah, we must all admit, has been exactly fulfilled in 
Jesus, and, as it could not have been possible, if He was 
an impostor, to control events so as to produce this result, 
we must conclude that He was and is the true Messiah. 

To this, however, it is objected that Messiah is repre- 
sented by the prophets as reigning as well as suffering. 


402 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


Trypho brings this fact to the attention of Justin Martyr, 
and infers from it — what many have done since — that as 
our Lord does not maintain on earth the grandeur of 
earthly majesty he has failed to make good his claim. Of 
course the reality of the predictions cannot be denied. 
They are found in the writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah 
and David — the first declaring that He shall sit upon the 
throne of Israel’s Royal Singer; the second that He shall 
reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice 
in the earth; the third that He shall rule and be great to 
the ends of the world; and the fourth exclaiming : “The 
Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand until I 
make thine enemies thy footstool.” (Isaiah ix, 7; Jere- 
miah xxiii, 5-6; Micah v, S-5; Psalm cx, 2-Ji..) This is 
plainly a matter of record, and the only question is, 
whether, in any just sense, it has come to pass. I think it 
has; if not completely, at least sufficiently. Remember 
that David’s throne, like the famed seat of Moses, may 
simply mean the authority wherewith that monarch was 
invested. In this sense Jesus has certainly succeeded to 
the scepter of the Psalmist King, for His law is acknowl- 
edged generally as supreme, as the last word of moral 
guidance issuing from the mouth of eternity, and if I mis- 
take not is coming to be recognized even by large bodies 
of the Jewish people. It should also be remembered that 
the insignia of royalty do not make a monarch ; that 
Cromwell was more of a king than the ermined Charles; and. 
that, consequently, we have no right to deny the reality of 
Christ’s reign because the external paraphernalia are 
wanting. His sovereignty is hardly disputable. Every- 
where there are loyal thousands who delight to do His 
will, and the history of eighteen centuries reveals Him 
governing supremely in the world. Nor is it necessary to 
suppose that the seat of Messiah’s administration was to be 
on the earth ; nay, rather, David’s language implies that it 


JESUS SHALL REIGH FOREVER. 


403 


was to be in Heaven. Thither we know our Savior departed, 
and from the right hand of the Majesty on High He rules 
the nations. Hence we claim that even the predictions 
that relate to His exaltation have been accomplished, and 
that what remains, though it tarry, shall not fail. Jesus 
shall yet answer these cavilers with such a manifestation 
of His glory as shall forever remove all doubts, for it is 
written by prophets and apostles that “He shall come the 
second time, without sin into salvation,” when shall be 
given Him, before an assembled universe, “dominion and 
a kingdom, that all people, nations and languages should 
serve Him, which dominion is an everlasting dominion, that 
shall not pass away”; and then “He shall show who is the 
blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord 
of Lords.” 

“We have found the Messiah.” Thank God, many 
have; but have you, my people? Are you searching for 
Him toward whom the eyes of humanity have been turned 
with longings, and who is able to save you to the utter- 
most ? If you are, these poor words of mine may aid you 
to a happy issue; yea, and if you are still seeking in earn- 
est sincerity, though my speech may be serviceless, Jesus 
will not be negligent of your desires, but will draw you 
closer to Himself, as He did Andrew, and in the sweet in- 
tercourse of soul He will disclose to you, as to the fisher- 
man, His Messianic glory. Let me pray you to rest not in 
the evidences which I have sketched, even though they 
may be satisfactory to your head ; but rather seek the 
witness in your heart, and then shall you know for your- 
self that He is the Holy One of Israel; and then, like 
Andrew, shall you spread the news abroad and cause the 
Messiah, found by you, to be found by thousands who yet 
are groping in the darkness of doubt and sin. 


XXVI. 


THE IMPORT OF JESUS. 

“What think ye of Christ? Whose son is He?” — Matt, xxii, 42. 

W E have already seen that the might of the mighty, 
the wisdom of the wise, the grace of the beautiful, 
the majesty of the great, the purity of the sinless, the 
humility of the lowly, the anguish of the afflicted, the 
poverty of the indigent, and the compassion of the sym- 
pathetic blended in the character and career of Jesus as 
the seven tints in the iris bow, and we have already intim- 
ated that more than a human halo streamed from His per- 
son, and that His myriad virtues demand more than 
earthly soil to account for their vigor and grandeur. As 
we have contemplated His many-sided excellencies, we^ 
have found oui selves exclaiming: 

“Thro’ countless means, one solemn end foreshown, 

The labyrinth closes at a single Throne.” 

The Phidian Jove, ennobled by stately thought and 
‘‘brows that sentence worlds,” the Apollo Belvedere, 
radiant with immortal youth and crowned with beauty, 
and all the other outbursts of genius seeking to represent, 
whether in art that charms and fascinates or in eloquence 
that thrills and burns, the glory of the Supreme, have 
sadly failed to satisfy the longings of the soul; for the 
image of the Divine can no more be imparted to stone or 
speech than “the light-scattering wings of morning” can 
be sculptured in marble or portrayed on canvas. But that 
which we find not in man’s masterly conceptions we recog- 


JESUS ABOVE ALL CREAIURES. 


405 


nize in Jesus, and feel that He is not only ‘Hhe chiefest 
among ten thousand and the one altogether lovely,” but 
is ‘‘the brightness of the Father’s glory and the express 
image of His person.” 

An English writer. Rev. J. W. Reynolds, in a recent 
volume on the Supernatural^ groups together in the fol- 
lowing striking language the considerations which impel 
him to exalt Jesus above the highest rank of creaturehood: 
“The Holy Personality was not the slow combined product 
of a world-spirit, stirring, with high culture, a greatly- 
gifted race; nor a moral development equipped in the 
school and cultured in the palace. Jesus, the child of poor 
parents, educated as a carpenter’s son, nurtured in Nazar- 
eth, of almost homeless poverty; was it possible for such 
a child, if but a child, to become that God-man of work 
so mighty? Contrast His humility with Jewish pride. His 
charity with their fanaticism. His expansiveness with their 
narrowness: you will say that He is one whom they could 
neither produce nor invent. The prophesied of, yet secret 
One, — ever hidden from their eyes; their honor and their 
shame; inextricably woven into their history, yet always 
nationally refused. For nineteen hundred years He has 
been the center and cause of all moral and spiritual 
development among the wisest nations, outside of these 
nations exists little knowledge, * * * yet, except in early 
childhood, he never stepped beyond the confines of Pales- 
tine. * * * Time chronicles centuries, myriads die; 

Jesus, imperishable as gold, lives forever; binds the heart 
of the world to Himself with electric chains; tells how 
the soul, weak and wandering like a storm-driven bird, 
may nestle in the bosom of our Holy Father. In the 
spirits of men, where sin has opened an unfathomable 
depth of anguish. He causes streams of consolation to 
flow, and fill that depth. He makes our eye to sparkle 
with light, and our cheek to glow with a strangely sweet 


406 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


aspect of those who look into far-off worlds, and gladly 
hasten thither.” Nor are men who, like Reynolds, are 
imbued with evangelical sentiments the only ones who 
have suspected that Jesus is more than His earthly appear- 
ance would at first seem to warrant. 

Tennyson voices the conviction of many deep thinkers, 
profound philosophers, and brilliant rationalists when he 
sings : 

“Strong Son of Grod, Immortal Love, 

Whom we, that have not seen Thy face. 

By faith, and faith alone, embrace. 

Believing where we cannot prove ; 

Hs sK * * * 

Thou seemest human and Divine, 

The highest, holiest manhood. Thou: 

Our wills are ours, we know not how ; 

Our wills are ours, to make them Thine 

Our little systems have their day ; 

They have their day and cease to oe ; 

They are but broken lights of Thee, 

And Thou, 0 Lord, art more than they.” 

Though they differ in their definitions and explanations of 
the mystery, it is remarkable how many minds, not dis- 
tinctively theological, and minds even antagonizing with 
theology, regard our Savior as the complete and final 
manifestation of the Deity. Schelling teaches that in 
Him the Divine and human are united. Julius Miiller 
claims that the Divine Essence is speculatively made 
known through Christ, and that this doctrine is common 
ground. Schlegel discards with scorn the theory that 
Christ was a Jewish Socrates who met with a fate no less 
deplorable for mankind than that which befel the Athenian 
sage, and adds: “If Christ were not more than a Socrates, 
then a Socrates He was not.” He argues, moreover, that 
such a comparison is “ unhistorical and anti-historical,” as 


THE TESTIMONY OF OPPONENTS. 


407 


it is in “utter opposition to all covenants^ testimonials, 
authentic records, and our Lord’s own express declara- 
tions,” and, if admitted, “the whole history of the world 
would be an insoluble enigma — an inexplicable laby- 
rinth — a huge pile of the blocks and fragments of an un- 
finished edifice — and the great tragedy of humanity would 
remain devoid of all proper result.” Lessing is equally 
positive; for he writes: “If Christ is not truly God, then 
Mahometanism was an undoubted improvement on the 
Christian religion. Mahomet, on such a supposition, would 
indisputably have been a greater man than Christ, as he 
would have been far more veracious, more circumspect, 
and more zealous for the honor of God, since Christ by 
His expressions would have given dangerous occasion for 
idolatry; while, on the other hand, not a single expression 
of the kind can be laid to the charge of Mahomet.” 
Another v’^riter, Keim, adopting rationalistic methods, 
from the study of our Savior’s sinlessness arrives at this 
conclusion: “In the life of Jesus, where the most genuine 
and unadulterated humanity dwelt, was revealed at the 
same time not only a religious genius, but the miracle of 
God and His presence upon earth.” And even Renan 
says, though the statement taken in any intelligible sense 
is subversive of his entire theory: “The Christ of the 
Gospels is the most beautiful incarnation of God in the 
most beautiful of forms. His beauty is eternal. His 
reign shall never end;” while Kant, when Borowski asso- 
ciated too intimately the name of Jesus with his, said with 
modest earnestness: “The one name is holy, the other is 
that of a poor bungler doing his best to interpret Him.” 
Such citations as these could be indefinitely multiplied, all 
tending to show the impression which the Savior has made 
upon the world, and the necessity we are under of ap- 
proaching the study of His import in a spirit of reverent 
thoughtfulness; but these must suffice, and these seem to 


408 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


speak as with the voice of God, sayings “ Put off thy shoes 
from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is 
holy ground.” 

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the 
Sadducees, they drew near to Him, inwardly pleased that 
their rivals had been discomfited, and one of their number, 
a lawyer, undertook to measure strength with Him in de- 
bate. His success was far from gratifying But now that 
Jesus had a group of these extreme religionists together, 
and as they were in a disputatious mood. He availed Him- 
self of the opportunity to catechize them a little. Hence 
He asked, ‘‘What think ye of Christ ? ” that is. What think 
ye of the Messiah, whom ye are expecting? “Whose Son 
is He ?” It is as though He inquired. To what rank in the 
hierarchy of being do you assign Him ? How far is He 
from the highest ? What His nature ? What His dignity ? 
What estimate should be formed of Him ? The Pharisees 
immediately replied, doubtless amazed that He should ask 
so simple a question, “ The son of David.” But the 
Master proceeded to show that this is not all that is to be 
said on the subject, and that it cannot thus be hastily dis- 
missed. He therefore inquired, “ How then doth David in 
spirit call Him Lord, saying. The Lord (.Jehovah) said 
unto my Lord (Adonai) Sit Thou at my right hand?” 
The Psalmist in this passage [I^s. cx, 1) recognizes the 
Messiah as already existing, though He was not to be 
manifested on earth for many centuries, and applies to 
Him one of the names which describe the Deity. How, 
then, could He be considered merely as the offspring of 
David, as a creature like himself, when He is thus addressed 
and thus exalted ? The Pharisees are quick enough to 
discern whither they are being led, and, fearing to be com- 
promised, they hazard no reply. But though the discussion 
was not protracted and was abruptly closed, we perceive 
that Jesus, claiming to be the Christ, was in this indirect 


CHRIST IH THE OLD TESTAMENT. 


409 


fashion asserting His own divinity. The appeal which He 
thus makes to the Old Testament naturally inclines us to 
scrutinize its testimony on this point yet closer and farther. 

Who, then, was the Being foreshown by the prophets as 
coming for the redemption of the w^orld? The Apostle 
John refers to Isaiah as beholding the glory of Messiah, 
and when we turn to the vision alluded to we find that the 
prophet there represents Him as sitting upon a throne, 
worshiped by the angels, who cry, “ Holy, holy, holy, 
Jehovah of Hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” 
{John xii^ Jflj Isa. vi, The name and the homage 

pertaining to the Infinite are ascribed to the Savior, and 
the inference is irresistible that He is what they denote. 
In other passages we likewise find the New Testament 
writers identifying Jesus with Jehovah of the Old. Thus 
they declare that He was born of a virgin; but He who 
was to be thus born was to be called, “The Mighty God, 
the Everlasting Father.” It was Jesus, according to Paul, 
who led Israel in the wilderness; it was Jehovah^ according 
to Moses. In Hebrews Moses is represented as preferring 
the reproach of Jesus to the treasures of Egypt; in Exo- 
dus it is Jehovah for whom he suffers the loss of all things. 
{Isaiah ix, 6; 1 Cor. x; Exodus xvii; Heb. xi; Exod. x.) 
The approach of the Coming One is thus heralded: “A 
voice crying in the wilderness, prepare ye a way for Jeho- 
vah ! Make straight in the desert a highway for our God !” 
“Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will raise 
unto David a righteous branch; * * * and this is the 

name whereby He shall be called, Jehovah Our Righteous- 
ness,” “ Behold I send My messenger, and he shall pre- 
pare the way before Me, * * * saith Jehovah of Hosts.” 

{Isaiah xl; Jeremiah xxiii; Mol. Hi.) These predictions 
point to the revelation, the manifestation, the incarnation 
of the Highest in the Christ; and evangelists and apostles 
maintain their fulfillment in Jesus, a position which Jesus 


410 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


Himself assumes to be true. They all imply, if they do 
not assert, His preexistence. “Verily, verily, I say unto 
you, before Abraham was, I am,” was the reply of Jesus to 
those who intimated that He was not yet fifty years old. 
And John proves that we do not misapprehend the Saviors 
meaning; for he testifies: “In the beginning was the 
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was 
God;” “All things were made by Him;” and “The Word 
was made flesh and dwelt among us.” Equally decisive, 
the mysterious declaration of Jesus, “And no man hath 
ascended up to Heaven, but He that came down from 
Heaven, even the Son of Man who is in Heaven;” language 
which recalls the significant prayer, “And now, O Father, 
glorify Thou Me with Thine own Self, with the glory which 
I had with Thee before the world was.” {John viii, 58; 
1-15; xviiy 5; iii, 13.) The force of these texts, and the 
thought which they express, contained in many others, 
cannot well be evaded. They declare that He to whom 
they refer is the “ First,” as He is likewise called “ the 
Last ” — that in a sense higher than is intended when Mel- 
chizedec is represented as without sacerdotal ancestry. He 
is “ without beginning or end of days,” and that “ He was 
set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the 
earth was.” His mere preexistence, we admit, does not 
prove His divinity, though, taken in connection with what 
we have seen was announced by the prophets, we cannot 
honestly see how it is to be denied, and, viewed in the light 
of what is said regarding its essential grandeur, we cannot 
perceive how His Godhood can be seriously challenged. 

He is frequently and unhesitatingly spoken of as the 
supreme and all- glorious existence. For instance, Jesus 
is expressly and repeatedly called “God” by the New 
Testament writers, as the Messiah is called the Jehovah by 
the Old. “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever.” 
“And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and 


EYIDEKCE OF THE KEW TESTAMEKT. 


411 


my God.” “The word was God.” “This is the true God 
and eternal life.” And the evangelists teach us to look 
for the “glorious appearing of the great God, and 
our Savior Jesus Christ.” It is sometimes said that 
Jesus never assumed this exalted rank ; and yet we 
know that His enemies condemned Him for making Him- 
self God. To Him they explain their antagonism in 
these words : “ Because that Thou, being a man, makest 
Thyself God.” Heb. ^, 8; John xx, 28; John ^, 1; 
I John V, 20; Tit. 13; John x, 33. The celebrated 
text, “God manifest in the flesh” (Z Tim. 16), 
which has been a fruitful source of controversy, has 
been altered by the Canterbury revisers; and because 
they have omitted the Divine name it has been inferred 
that it can no longer serve to strengthen the central 
dogma of orthodoxy. But this is a rash conclusion. 
Though the name may have no place in the text, the doc- 
trine of the incarnation cannot be eliminated from it. 
When we examine it, we are led irresistibly to inquire: 
Who was it that was “ manifest in the flesh ” if it was not 
God ? That which is revealed, disclosed, exhibited, must 
previously have existed. We do not say that an infant is 
“ manifest ” in the flesh when it is born, for it had no pre- 
natal being in some other world. Why should it have 
been worthy of note if an angelic creature had been the 
manifested one? Angels had frequently appeared, and 
the announcement that another had unveiled his splendor 
among men would hardly have called for special comment. 
That no such idea was intended is evident from the fact 
that whatever or whoever was manifested “was seen of 
angels,” and impliedly was not an angel. Moreover, who- 
ever it was became the object of faith, and was “received 
into glory,” and the Lord .Jehovah is the only Being in 
whom we are authorized to trust, and the only Being who 
is enshrined in supreme majesty and power. Creatures 


412 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


render glory. The Creator is the only Being who receives 
it, at least He is the only Being to whom it can be offered 
without sin. We consequently conclude as the Apostle 
in the preceding verses speaks of the Church of the living 
God, however awkward the transition may seem, an awk- 
wardness which the new version has not remedied, and, 
though the Divine name in the text may be an interpola- 
tion, that Paul had in mind its Infinite Builder, and is 
recording in the disputed passage His mysterious incarna- 
tion, humiliation and exaltation. But whether this is a 
fair inference from the text or not, we know that in other 
Scriptures not only the titles but the attributes of Jehovah 
are ascribed to Jesus. Of Him it is said that He is the 
“Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, who is, 
who was, and who is to come; ” that He is before all things 
and by Him all things consist; for by Him were all things 
created that are in Heaven and that are in the earth;” that 
“ He upholds all things by the word of His power; ” that 
“He knows all things;” that “He searcheth the reins and 
the hearts;” and is with His people whenever they meet, 
and will be with them until the end of the world. (7?ev. 

8/ Col. ^, 16, 17; Heh. ^, 3; John xxi, 17; Rev. 

23; Math, xviii, 20; xxviii, 20.) That is, He is eternal, 
immortal, omnipotent, omniscient; the Creator and Pre- 
server of all things “that are in Heaven and that are in 
the earth, visible and invisible.” “All things were created 
by Him and for Him.” More than this could not be 
affirmed, and no more is required to establish the august 
claims which we are defending. 

While we might rest the argument here, there are con- 
siderations suggested by the fact that this Pre-Existence, 
this Supreme Existence, became the Condescending Ex- 
istence, which deserve attention, and which add to its force 
and conclusiveness; for well has Ullman, in his Smlessness 
of Jesus, said, “The source of His greatness is not His 


THE COJS^DESCEHSIOH OF JESUS. 


413 


ascending, but His condescending, not rising above men, 
but letting Himself down to them.” The Apostle Paul 
writes to the Hebrews concerning Christ, ‘‘Verily, He 
took not on Him the nature of angels, but He took on 
Him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore, in all things it 
behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren.” 
a, 16, 17.) Here His proper and complete humanity is 
affirmed. He is represented as bending to take hold of 
something. Lower than the angels He bent, hence He 
was higher than they; He descended to man’s level, then 
surely in original dignity He immeasurably outranks him. 
The same Apostle testifies: “Ye know the grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your 
sakes He became poor.” {II Gor. 9.) But when 
was Jesus rich ? Buddha we know was a king’s son, had 
the revenues of a monarchy at his disposal, and repudiated 
them ; but there is nothing corresponding to this in the 
biography of Jesus. He was born in poverty. He lived 
and died in poverty; He never possessed earthly wealth, 
and consequently never surrendered it. The affluence re- 
ferred to, therefore, must be Heavenly and spiritual. He 
abandoned His crown and throne and submitted to man’s 
estate, and though that estate had been blessed with 
worldly treasures, in comparison with what He had laid 
down it would still have been a condition of abject penury. 
Further, it is said that “He, being in the form of God, 
thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made 
Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a 
servant, and was made in the likeness of men. * * * 

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given 
Him a name which is above every name.” {Phil, ii, 6-9.) 
On this passage permit a few reflections. The apostle is 
exhorting to humanity, and presents Jesus as an inspiring 
example. But if He was a creature, even the loftiest, 
wherein does the condescension appear? Not surely in 
31 


414 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


His aspiring to be equal with God, for that were vain and 
reprehensible presumption. If He was only a creature, 
the exaltation promised, exceeding in grandeur and 
blessedness anything ever attained by angels or principali- 
ties, obscures His lowliness of spirit; for He was only sub- 
mitting to mean conditions for the sake of gratifying shore- 
less ambition. Were the President of the United States 
to say to a poor man, ‘‘Join the army and I will make you 
General,” would it be thought condescending^ with this 
prospect in view, for him to do as he was told? No; in 
such a case there would neither be selfrsacrifice nor self- 
depreciation exhibited; and neither would they have been 
apparent in Jesus if from the ranks of creaturehood He 
had stepped forth to take a cross which would lead inevi- 
tably to a crown, and a crown such as is here described, 
universal and supreme in authority. If, on the other hand, 
we regard “form of God” and “form of servant” as 
equivalents, teaching that he was actually God as He was 
actually man, then in taking our nature and becoming 
obedient to death. His self-abasement is evident; for no 
degree of honor to which He could attain could possibly 
surpass that which was originally His, however it might 
vary in kind or become more pronounced and conspicuous 
in display. 

In the light of this Scripture testimony, which could 
be greatly augmented, it is not surprising that the Church 
should maintain the proper Divinity of our Lord. This 
she has done by councils, confessions, and martyrdoms, 
and to-day she is as confident that this is the true faith as 
ever in the past. To her Jesus is, as Irenseus expresses it, 
“ Born and unborn, God in flesh, life in death, born of Mary, 
born of God;” or, as Bishop Hopkins has it, she declares, 
“In Him omnipotence became weak; eternity mortal; in- 
nocence itself guilty; God man; the Creator a creature; 
the Maker of all, His own workmanship; 


THE IKCAKKATIOK KEASOHABLE. 


415 


“ A King, without regalia, 

A God, without the thunder, 

A child, without the heart for play ; 

Ay, a Creator, rent asunder 
From his first glory, and cast away 
In His own world.” 

Yes, according to the Inspired Book, Jesus is the meet- 
ing place of two worlds — the human world and the Divine. 
The essence of all Being centers in Him. Godhood and 
manhood are united in Him forever. Limitless ubiquity 
enshrines itself in limitable space, measureless eternity en- 
folds itself in measurable time, incomprehensible infinity 
clothes itself with comprehensible finitude. The inscrutable 
becomes the familiar, the unknown the known, the invisible 
the visible, the spiritual the incarnate, and the total result 
is Jesus of Nazareth. 

Great, indeed, is the mystery of Godliness, but not 
irrational ! The testimonies with which we introduced 
this discourse go to show that the deepest thinkers have 
regarded some special manifestation of Divinity in hu- 
manity as credible and reasonable. The profoundest 
philosophers have proceeded on the assumption that in 
the processes of nature and history the Absolute must be 
revealed, as some claim thereby attaining to self-con- 
sciousness, and if such is the case, then it is no more than 
probable that such an unfolding should reach its sublime 
climax in one final and supreme incarnation. Poets as 
well as philosophers have celebrated the immanence of the 
Creator in His works, and have taught us, though Panthe- 
ism is untrue, that His relations to all things are more 
intimate and abiding than mechanical theories of the 
universe will allow. Thus Coleridge, in harmonious lines, 
inquires: 

“ And what if all of animated nature 
Be but organic harps diversely framed, 

That tremble into thought, as o’er them sweeps 


416 


JESUS THE WOKLD’S SAVIOK. 


Plastic and vast, one intellectual breeze, 

At once the soul of each, and God of All ?” 

With Wordsworth, likewise, God is in everything, abid- 
ing everywhere: He sings. His 

“ Dwelling is the light of setting suns. 

And the round ocean, and the living air. 

And the blue sky and in the mind of man 

A motion and a spirit, that impels 

All thinking things, all objects of all thought, 

And rolls through all things.” 

Our own higher moods confirm these sentiments; for 
there are times when we are conscious of an individual 
life that is not our own, of thought, impulse, inspiration, 
which we in vain try to trace to our poor earthly souls, 
and which we are obliged to ascribe to the Almighty. 
The unapproachable creations of genius we instinctively 
attribute to this source, and the nobler forms of goodness 
we account for in the same way. Thus our own experi- 
ences, as well as the uttered sentiments of thoughtful 
minds, prepare us to receive the announcement of an 
incarnation which surpasses in grandeur and wonder every 
other instance of Divine indwelling, and they constrain us 
to admit its credibility, even though it may be so far 
removed from that with which we are familiar as to render 
it inexplicable. 

And it is inexplicable. ‘‘Great is the mystery of God- 
liness,” great in the days of the apostles, and as great a 
mystery still. All the skill, penetration and investigation 
which have been devoted to this subject have failed to lav 
bare the principle common to the Divine and human na- 
tures which must form the nexus by which their union is 
rendered possible. How these natures coexist without 
collision, and how it comes to pass that the diverse is not, 
in this instance, the incongruous, no mind has compre- 
hended. We cannot conceive how the finite can coexist 


THE INCARNATIOK A MYSTERY. 


417 


with the infinite, or how the absolute can become the rela- 
tive. Yet let us not forget, as Mansel has pointed out, 
that these difficulties lie principally against every form of 
the finite, and that it is as easy to believe the incarnation 
as it is to believe that the Infinite called the finite into 
being without augmenting the amount of existence, for if 
existence was not augmented He was not previously Infi- 
nite. “The coexistence of the Infinite and the finite in 
any manner whatever is inconceivable by reason; and the 
only ground that can be taken for accepting one represen- 
tation of it rather than another, is that one is revealed, 
and another is not revealed.” We must, therefore, aban- 
don all attempts to explore and explain this mystery of 
our faith, even as we are forced to leave unsolved the 
enigmas that confront us on all sides in space, in gravita- 
tion, in time, in life; yea, and in ail things from the elec- 
tric spark to the fiery sun, from the mollusk to the man, 
and from the man to the angel. What is revealed must 
content us. We must rest satisfied with the knowledge of 
the fact, and with such dim apprehensions of it as are 
possible to our poor understandings. What we know, 
and may feel certain of, is that the Logos took the human 
into abiding fellowship with Himself, and dwelt in, 
thought, willed, and felt in and through the human, and 
so became, as Shedd expressed it, a sort of resultant per- 
son, “neither human nor Divine but Divine-human” — the 
God-man. Just as man dwells in the body, and in this 
life thinks, wills and acts in it and by it, so the Divine, at 
least in some such sense, thought, wrought and suffered in 
and through the human nature which he assumed. Hence 
the “judicious Hooker” [JSccl. Pol., PookV, Chap. 53) 
remarks: “By reason not of two persons linked in amity, 
but of two natures, human and Divine, conjoined in one 
and the same person, the God of glory may be said as 
well to have suffered death as to have raised the dead 


418 


JESUS THE WOKLD’S SAVIOE. 


from their graves, the Son of Man as well to have made 
as redeemed the world.” Moreover, as He revealed and 
manifested Himself through the human, the human itself 
grew, expanded and developed, every volition and move- 
ment of the Divine, quickening its powers, enlarging its 
intelligence and perfecting its graces. We have in this 
conception of the mysterious union an explanation of the 
oblivion to His higher nature, which at the first character- 
ized the man Jesus, of His subsequent and gradual con- 
sciousness of its reality and greatness, and of His mental 
and spiritual progress — a progress which we have shown 
in a former discourse was too wonderful to be accounted 
for satisfactorily by external circumstances. It was the 
stirrings and operations of the Divine in Christ’s human- 
ity that at last imparted to that humanity the complete 
consciousness of its own significance and of its exalted 
fellowship, and these were also the means of its preterna- 
tural and otherwise inexplicable development. 

This much we know, or may infer from the history of 
Jesus and the testimony of His disciples; and this much 
is imperatively demanded to account for Him intelligently. 
But here inquiry is arrested, and dense clouds of impene- 
trable mystery roll over the immense expanse of this 
fathomless ocean. Its shore-line we can scarcely see. 
Only through a slight rift in its clouds can we look, but 
this must satisfy us until the dawning of the eternal 
morning, when the Sun of suns shall disperse all dark- 
ness from this sea, which, however enshrouded, is the only 
one that affords to souls a safe passage from a world of 
sin and guilt to a world of righteousness. 

“What think ye of Christ?” The wise King wrote: 
“As a man thinks so is he.” And equally true it is that 
what you think of Christ will determine what he is to 
your souls. Theories do not change or modify realities. 
The earth would not cease to be round though all men 


ALL THINGS POSSIBLE TO GOD-INCARNATE. 419 


should unite in declaring it flat and square. Neither do 
multiplied denials of our Lord’s Godhood render Him any 
less Divine. He is what He is whatever may be man’s 
opinions. But what men believe regarding Him must 
affect themselves. If they count Him merely human, how 
can they trust Him for salvation, how can they suppose 
that His righteousness avails for them, and how can they 
imagine that He is able to give them power to become the 
sons of God? They cannot; and in proof of it they who 
reject His supreme Lordship do not receive Him in His 
mediatorial offices, even though the Scriptures teach that 
He is our redemption and sanctification. But, on the 
other hand, conceive of Him as the Substance of Eternity 
imprisoned in the Symbol of Time, as the Infinite Circum- 
ference finding its abiding center in man, as the Exhaust- 
less Affluence enriching all worlds, and what is there that 
He is incapable of accomplishing ? To such a Being we 
must admit all things are possible, and when we hear 
of Him we must expect that He will act in harmony with 
Himself; and hence when he proposes to render the in- 
coherent coherent, the disorderly orderly, the doubtful 
certain, the carnal spiritual, and the mortal immortal, we 
cannot be surprised. We feel that God should be and do 
in manner Godlike. This is not only piety, it is logic. If, 
then, you thus think of Him He will be everything to you, 
will minister to your peace of mind, your elevation and 
usefulness; to your peace, for you will realize His ability 
to save to the uttermost; to your elevation, for you will 
come to see in the incarnation the promise of God’s in- 
dwelling in the race; and to your usefulness, for you will 
come to consider His- condescension the truest mark of 
His greatness, and will aim to bend as He bent to the 
lowest depths that your fellows may be saved. Thus, 
thinking aright of Christ is thinking aright of Christian- 
ity, and thinking aright of Christianity is the surest way 


420 


JESUS THE WOKLD’S SAVIOE. 


of ministering to its power and permanence in society. 
For these reasons, doubtless, the Apostles did everything 
they could to exalt Christ in the intellect and heart of the 
people; and for these reasons I have spoken as I have in 
this discourse, confident, if the message is received, that it 
will lead you, my people, to nobler endeavors, and you, 
my unconverted hearers, to assured peace and unending 

joy. 

There is a famous Head of Christ by Leonardo Da 
Vinci in the Cathedral at Antwerp, which is quite remarka- 
ble, apart from its artistic merits, on account of a very 
startling effect which it produces on the mind of all who 
examine it closely. The eyes of the head appear to follow 
the man who looks on it steadily. It makes no difference 
in what direction he turns, or from what point or angle he 
chooses to view the picture, the mild, pathetic, pleading 
eyes pursue him. He cannot escape from their gaze. 
They search him out, they seem to move as he moves, and 
to meet him at every change of his position. What the 
painter suggests by this wonderful portrait is everlastingly 
true. The eyes of Jesus are everywhere. They rest on all 
the diverse interests and complicated affairs of this dis- 
tressed, distracted and despairing earth, on its fame and 
its shame, on its gladness and sorrow, on its struggling 
and perishing vanities, and on its sin growing into crime, 
and on its crime deepening into abysmal misery. To Him 
who said, “ Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end 
of the world,” we may apply the sublime words of the 
Psalmist, “If I ascend up into Heaven, Thou art there; if 
I make my bed in hell, behold Thou art there. If I take 
the wings of the morning and dwell- in the uttermost parts 
of the sea, even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy 
right hand shall hold me.” Yes, this is our confidence. If 
He sees, it is to help. The hand follows the eyes, omni- 
presence guides omnipotence, and He is everywhere that 


JESUS ABIDETH FOREVEE. 


421 


He may be everything to His creatures. Being what He 
is, “ the image of the invisible God,” in whom “ dwelleth 
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,” and “ in whom are 
hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” He 
must see the troubled, toiling, tempted and tortured mil- 
lions to console and sanctify, and to work out potently, 
though inscrutably, the high and blessed purposes of His 
grace. No arm can thwart Him, no perverse and stub- 
born resistance can withstand Him, and no combination of 
men, or of men and devils, can prevail against Him. Be- 
fore Him “ all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as 
nothing, and He doeth according to His will in the army 
of Heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; 
and none can stay his hand, or say unto Him, What doest 
Thou?” 

This is our encouragement amid manifold perplexities, 
trials and defeats. The import of Jesus assures society, 
whether it believes or disbelieves, that One is reigning over 
and in all of its movements, revolutions, and endless trans- 
formations, and that He will at last bring everything to a 
happy and glorious issue. Men tell us that Christianity is 
but a phase of universal superstition, an illusion to be dis- 
pelled by the ‘‘march of progress,” an iris bow cast on the 
dark clouds of time by the imagination, which shall melt 
at last into the blackness of night. It is not true. Let us 
not forget that back of rainbows there is the sun. The bow 
may disappear, but light remains; for the sun is permanent 
and enduring. Forms and types of religion may change, 
they may come and they may go, but their source and 
their substance abideth forever. When crossing the At- 
lantic I was permitted to witness a scene which surpassed 
in beauty my fairest dreams. Clouds lay on the horizon’s 
verge, dark and forbidding; the atmosphere was charged 
with moisture, and the declining sun was veiled from sight. 
But as the good ship ploughed her way, leaving behind 


422 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


her silver furrows, a rainbow suddenly appeared spanning 
the ocean, forming a radiant arch toward which she drove 
as though impatient to pass through it to a calmer sea. I 
need hardly say that her efforts were unavailing. As she 
advanced, the golden gateway receded, and still receded. 
Another bow was formed, and yet another, but at last they 
all vanished. The circling glory was evanescent. It came 
and it went; but as we turned with disappointment from 
the prow of the vessel, we beheld the sun. There it shone 
in the west, resplendent, gorgeous, fiery, as it hath shone 
on weary mariners in the ages gone, and as it shall shine 
in the ages yet unborn. Our theories of religion, our con- 
ceptions, speculations, and even our proud sectarianisms, 
are not unlike the iris that gleamed over the mighty sea, 
and our humanity is not unlike that sea, wild and turbu- 
lent, which furnished the watery element for the glittering 
arch. From man’s mind, from his imagination, if you will, 
stream thoughts, impressions, hopes and fears, that sup- 
ply the material, which, when touched by Heaven’s inspira- 
tion, takes form in creeds, and schools and churches. These, 
however would be impossible, but for the “ Sun of Right- 
eousness” who irradiates them all, who imparts to them 
whatever of spiritual splendor they possess, and who shall 
beam and shine when all earthly conceits and pious visions 
have given place to the pure light which at last shall flood 
the world with holy beauty. Rainbows perish, but, re- 
member, suns endure. Your opinions, and my guesses and 
hypotheses, may be unsubstantial and be doomed to obli- 
vion, but the Christ who is higher and grander than them 
all shall survive, and shall preserve His truth wherever it 
has been proclaimed, and shall triumph gloriously over all 
adversaries when “ He comes the second time without sin 
unto salvation.” 

Heine was not mistaken, when, after describing the ban- 
queting of the Homeric gods, he represented, whether in 


JESUS DETHRONES ALL GODS. 


423 


jest or in earnest we know not, the approach of a pale-faced 
Jew, with blood upon his brow, and bearing a heavy cross, 
at whose presence the pagan deities grew pale and van- 
ished. He was right in supposing that Jesus and His cross 
had upturned the old creeds, had dethroned the antique 
gods, and had inaugurated a new era. All this the Savior 
accomplished; and all this warrants the belief that every 
impediment that retards the advancement of His kingdom 
shall be removed, and every enemy be finally subdued. 
That this conviction is not the result of sanguine dreams, 
but rests alike on -what Jesus is and on what He has done. 
Rev. O. B. Frothingham, than whom no better, and cer- 
tainly no more impartial a witness, could be found, has 
clearly shown. In an article published last April on 
Criticism and Christianity, he has pointed out the fact 
that the assaults on the Bible have not in the least inval- 
idated the cardinal truths of religion. His utterances on 
this point are worthy consideration, not merely on account 
of their evident soundness, but on account of their author’s 
previously reiterated aversion to orthodoxy. We give a 
single passage from this striking paper printed in the 
North American Meview, which should shame into bold- 
ness and confidence the weak victims inside the fold of a 
yet weaker, though somewhat wolfish, infidelity outside. 
He says, referring to the outcome of modern criticism : 

“The lesson of all this is the absolute distinction be- 
tween investigation into the natural genesis or the histor- 
ical development of instituted forms, whether of observance 
or belief, and the principles of religious trust. Push 
criticism to its farthest point, still there is a line it cannot 
pass over. Give real scholarship its rein in the study of 
the Old Testament; in the study of the New Testament; 
in the attempt to find the causes of observance, doctrine, 
church; in the effort to account for the selection of canon- 
ical writings; in the endeavor to explain the life of Jesus; 


424 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


demand of it acuteness, perseverance, frankness; make its 
difficult task as easy as readiness to accept results can 
make it. Its tether is short enough at the best, for the 
validity of spiritual truth is beyond the reach of its sharp- 
est instruments, and whatever results may be arrived at, 
faith can have nothing to fear. Suppose every miracle to 
be discredited; suppose doubt to be thrown on the whole 
legend of the Gospels; suppose the theory advanced in 
Christ the Spirit, namely, that the story of Jesus is 
mythical, to be demonstrated as far as it can be, still the 
religion is untouched. Neither the Trinity, nor the Deity 
of Christ, nor the virtue of the Eucharist, nor the reality 
of an Eternal Life, rests on the Bible; if they did, they 
would never have existed at all. This has been said a 
great many times, and should be a commonplace idea now. 
Yet there are critics who fancy that criticism will destroy 
Christianity, and there are Christians who fear that the 
critics will take away their birthright. It is no matter for 
surprise that believers should take up arms in defense of 
favorite books or characters, for it is not human to surren- 
der without a struggle what one loves; but it is astonish- 
ing that thinking men of this generation should feel that 
their defeat imperiled the citadel of faith; that grief 
should be identical with despair.” 

Such, then, is the testimony of one who for years has 
been known as the leading Freethinker of America, and 
such testimony, taken in connection with the incomparable 
grandeur of Christ’s person, cannot fail to deepen the 
conviction that no weapon formed against Him can pros- 
per, and that however the faith of His disciples may 
falter. He Himself “ shall not fail nor be discouraged till 
He have set judgment in the earth ; and the isles shall 
wait for His law.” 

It is recorded by Luke that when Jesus ascended to 
Heaven after His resurrection. His disciples worshiped 


THE WORSHIP OF JESUS ETERNAL. . 


425 


Him. In Heaven itself, as revealed by John, that worship 
is maintained by saints and angels. And rising from this 
evening’s study^ that spirit should be ours, and as we go 
forth meditating on the Christ of whom we have heard, 
the words of Peter should be in our hearts and oh our lips: 
“To Him be glory, both now and forever. Amen.” 

“ We sing to Thee, Thou Son of God, 

Fountain of life and grace; 

We praise Thee, Son of Man, whose blood 
Redeemed our fallen race. 

Thee we acknowledge God and Lord, 

The Lamb for sinners slain. 

Who art by heaven and earth adored, 

Worthy o’er both to reign. 

Through all the world. Thy churches join 
To call on Thee, their Head, 

Brightness of majesty Divine, 

Who every power hast made. 

Among their number, Lord, we love 
To sing Thy precious blood. 

Reign here, and in the worlds above, 

Thou Holy Lamb of God ! ” 


XXVII. 


THE FUTHEE OF JESUS. 


I will come again . — John xiv, 3. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus . — Revelation xxii, 20. 

HE eye taught by civilization beholds in granite and 



-J- marble quarries the fair promise of future cities, of 
stately edifices, magnificent temples, and of the varied 
and beauteous forms which art and genius can impart to 
stone. To the mind instructed in the annals of the race, 
mighty navies are visible in the tall, sinewy trees of vir- 
gin forests, and blazing fires on happy hearths are seen 
emerging from dark and forbidding coal fields. Poten- 
tially the structures, improvements, inventions, and what- 
soever of material splendor or utility shall distinguish the 
coming time, exist already in the boundless resources of 
physical nature. He who could compass and measure the 
treasures of the latter could almost give an inventory of 
the former. While he could not anticipate the details of 
the labor nor describe in advance the precise fashions and 
shapes which human ingenuity shall give to its creations, 
and while he could not foresee the voyages which the yet 
unmade ships shall take, nor all the circumstances which 
shall attend the building of the yet unprojected houses, 
he could sum up and portray, at least roughly and in out- 
line, the results of material progress as they shall be in 
future ages. 

Much more can the student of Holy Writ determine 
the moral and religious development of the world from 
the teachings of prophecy. History is foreshadowed in 


LIMITATIONS OF PROPHECT 


427 


the Sacred Books, and may there be read, as the character 
of a proposed palace or cathedral may be traced in the 
working plans of the architect. But it should be remem- 
bered that there is much in the way of minutim which can- 
not be discerned and which defies the skill of the interpre- 
ter to sketch. He cannot be certain about dates, and 
when several events occur together he cannot dogmatize 
about their order, neither can he be sure of the application 
of particular predictions. He sees “through a glass 
darkly.” The future lies in a mist, and he should be 
satisfied with the dim glimpse which is granted him of 
bold headlands, quiet valleys, and frowning mountain 
ranges. When this is not the case, and when he under- 
takes to give a specific account of everything that is to be, 
he involves himself in contradictions, and is betrayed into 
evident absurdities. From this fruitful source of mischief 
have arisen ridiculous processionings toward Jerusalem, as- 
cension programmes, and other farcical proceedings which 
scandalize Christianity, and which bring its revelations 
into contempt. If, therefore, in this discourse, I confine 
myself to what is plain, and avoid what is obscure, it is 
because I am convinced'that any other course would launch 
us on a stormy sea of incertitude, devoid of beacons and 
destitute of harbors. 

We crave completeness in everything, whether in the 
process of nature or in the affairs of human life. The 
flower that never blooms, the corn that never ripens, the 
orchard that never bears, and the fruit that never mellows 
we turn from with a sense of disappointment. Their 
promise has not been redeemed. We would rather own a 
century-plant whose floral glory we should never see, but 
which would assuredly delight the eyes of our children, 
than an annual whose vitality exhausted itself in robing its 
form in mantle of green and never served to crown its 
brow with variegated beauty. So, likewise, we grieve when 


428 


JESUS THE WORLD^S SAVIOR. 


genius is suddenly eclipsed, when strenuous exertion fails 
of adequate return, when self-sacrifice and heroism seem to 
be wasted, and when great movements end in disaster and 
shame. Now, it must impress us that the career of Jesus 
demands something more than a resurrection from the 
dead and an ascension into Heaven. We are not satisfied 
with the climax. As far as it goes, it is well enough; but 
it does not go far enough. If this is all, if the ages are 
to witness an endless repetition of what has been, if the 
struggle between good and evil is to continue pretty much 
as in the past, only varied by slight advantages on one 
side or the other, and if there is to be no decisive and tri- 
umphant outcome of the work which our Lord inaugu- 
rated, then there is an incompleteness about it which is 
hardly reconcilable with any fair idea of its Divine origin. 
It will not do to say that Christianity is a flower whose 
roots are in the earth and its blossoms in Heaven, that the 
beginnings are beneath and the consummations above, for 
we feel that what has been commenced here should be per- 
fected here. If Christ brought salvation to this world, 
then in this world ought it to be fully accomplished; all 
its blessings, fruits, and achievements should be witnessed 
in the very domain where they were first projected. This 
feeling the Scriptures abundantly justify. They foretell 
the time when Jesus shall return and finish the salvation 
which He began in tears and blood, when He shall restore 
all things, when the works of the Devil shall be destroyed, 
and when the drama of redemption shall find a fitting close 
in glory everlasting. And it is to this future of our Lord 
I would direct your thoughts in bringing this sermon- 
series to an end. 

The promise of a second advent was not an after- 
thought, much less was it a shrewd invention of cunning 
priests to account for ancient predictions which failed of 
fulfillment in the life of Christ, and neither was it a device 


IMPOETAi^'CE OF THE SECOND ADVENT. 


429 


to strengthen faith in the Gospels by placing its triumphs 
in a far-off era, and in connection with a remarkable group 
of events which would maintain constant expectations, 
though they might never be realized. It was uttered by 
Christ Himself, as in the text, not once, but frequently. 
To the disciples He said, “ I will come again,” and to the 
malignant priests He confessed Himself the Anointed One 
who should yet be seen in the glory of His Father. Some 
of his parables, such as that of the rich nobleman who goes 
to a distant land to procure a kingdom and return, involve 
this hope; and His sermon preceding His arrest, while 
devoted in no small degree to the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem, brings out very vividly the certainty and manner of 
His return to earth. The Apostles, likewise, dwell on this 
expectation in such a way as to preclude the supposition that 
they were trying to blind the eyes of their followers to de- 
fects and discrepancies in the Christian scheme. Their reve- 
lations on this subject harmonize too fully with what had 
preceded, and partake too strictly of the nature of a climax 
and denouement for them to be liable to any such suspi- 
cions. From the first, it is contemplated as inevitable, and 
enters so largely into the subject of the inspired writings 
that it is not only impossible to regard it as a hasty expe- 
dient to meet emergencies, but equally impossible to 
escape the inference that it is a doctrine of transcendent 
importance. Next to the absurdity of imagining the doc- 
trine to be an afterthought ranks the infatuation of those 
who speak of it in disparaging tones as of very little 
moment and as unworthy serious consideration. For such 
an opinion there is no sufficient ground. Whatever the 
Almighty has taken pains to make known is deserving of 
earnest endeavors to understand. And if it has been 
abused, perverted, and made the occasion of fanaticisms 
and extravagances, as the hope of the second advent has 
— and what article of the creed has not? — there seems to 
23 


430 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


me to be an additional obligation resting on the expositor 
to rescue it from the misinterpretation of its friends and 
from the malignant slanders of its enemies. Nor can it 
surely be otherwise than spiritually profitable .to contemplate 
the triumphant approach of Him who 

‘ ‘ Shall visit earth in mercy ; shall descend 
Propitious in His chariot paved with love ; 

And what His storms have blasted and defaced, 

For man’s revolt, shall with a smile repair.” 

Jesus is to come personally. This is the plain import 
of His own words, and of those spoken on this subject 
by His disciples; and in this respect His second coming 
is similar to His first. I know there is a vague impression 
abroad that it sometimes denotes a spiritual and providen- 
tial manifestation. But were this the case, the confusion 
would be lamentable and endless. If identical phraseol- 
ogy is employed to describe different events we never 
can be certain which is intended, and for all practical pur- 
poses a revelation is worse than useless. The brethren 
who so ardently insist on attaching a metaphorical or 
mystical signification to the language which refers to the 
second advent should remember that they are sharpening 
a sword on both edges. If they are warranted by the exi- 
gencies of a theory which they consider more reasonable 
than any other to manipulate plain declarations of Scrip- 
ture, and to account that figurative which is clearly literal, 
why may not the opponents of evangelical views adopt the 
same rule, and, as it appears to them more rational to 
deny than to credit the divinity of Christ and His resur- 
rection, why may they not resolve all the proof-texts in 
favor of these truths into mere poetic or metaphorical ex- 
pressions ? When this is done by either party it is appar- 
ent that naturalism is taken as the rule of faith, not super- 
naturalism; that reason is followed, not the Bible. Are 
evangelical teachers prepared to assume the right of 
shaping the testimony of Holy Writ to suit their precon- 


THE COMIKG IS PERSONAL. 


431 


ceived ideas and fancies ? If they are, then let them not 
blame those who, imitating their example, reject the dis- 
tinctive and essential doctrines of grace. If they are not, 
then let them interpret the passages which relate to the 
second advent, as they do those which relate to any other 
subject. In adopting this course, they will find that Jesus 
has carefully discriminated between that event and the 
operations of the Spirit and the interpositions of Provi- 
dence. He assures His disciples {John xvi) that it is 
expedient for Him to depart, that the Comforter may 
come and glorify Him and speak of Him, thus dis- 
tinguishing between the Being who goes and the Being 
who comes. We have, therefore, no right to confound 
the one with the other, or to substitute the one for the 
other according to our own whims or the exigencies of 
some cherished hypothesis. Our Lord is equally guarded 
when describing the fall of Jerusalem. Some commenta- 
tors urge that Christ was to appear and did appear in the 
Roman armies, or, in other words, that His advent was 
simply a movement of Providence accomplished when the 
military forces under Titus besieged the holy city. This, 
however, is an error, and, strange to say, it is the error 
which our Lord tries to shield His disciples from in His 
great prophecy. He tells them distinctly, when they shall 
see the abomination of desolation ” — that is, “the armies 
compassing Jerusalem” — “if any man shall say. 'Lo, 
here is Christ,’ believe it not,” and assures them that He 
shall not appear until the Jews have been carried captive 
into all nations, and until the times of the Gentiles are 
fulfilled. {Math. xxiVy Luke xxi.) The first of these 
predictions has been accomplished; the Jews are scattered 
everywhere; but the second has not, for the Gentiles are 
still the Gospel people. If, then, the invasion of Judea 
was to precede the calamities which were to befall that 
land, and the advent was to follow at a subsequent period. 


432 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


and if the hostile occupation was to occur near the begin- 
ning of the Gentile age and the coming of Christ at the 
close, we have no right to identify them or to speak of 
them as though they were not radically distinct. 

It is consequently manifest that the spiritual hypothe- 
sis has no foundation in these passages which are fre- 
quently appealed to in its behalf, and it fades into empty 
nothingness before those which unmistakably imply per- 
sonality. The text itself is one of these. If I go,” says 
Christ, “ I will come again.” The ‘‘ I ” that departs is 
the “I” that is to return. We know that He ascended 
personally, and personally must He descend, if His words 
have any meaning. To evade this inference it is sug- 
gested that as He promises to come and receive His dis- 
ciples unto Himself, and as He did not appear visibly dur- 
ing their life on earth, it must have been fulfilled in their 
death, and, therefore, that its significance must be ex- 
hausted in His taking home the souls of His saints. This 
interpretation will not hold. In death the child of God is 
represented as departing to the Savior; never is death 
presented as the return of the Savior for the child of God. 
Said Paul: “I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire 
to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better; ” and 
said Stephen in his martyr agony, “ Lord Jesus, receive 
my spirit.” {Philip. 1, 23; Acts vii, 59.) To remove 
this objection and understand our Savior’s language, we 
must remember that He regarded His immediate disciples 
as part of His Church, and that what He says is applica- 
ble to the Church as a whole. It is declared that the 
entire body of the redeemed shall be glorified together. 
Paul, when he eulogizes the worthies who have ended 
their earthly warfare, testifies that they had not received 
the promise, or what was promised, “ God having provided 
some better thing for us, that they without us should not 
be made perfect.” {Heh. a;^, 89, Jfi; see also Pev. vi, 11.) 


HE COMES SUDDENLY. 


433 


In harmony with this thought, Jesus speaks in our text 
to His Church, saying substantially: “I now leave iny 
Church, but I will come at last and receive her to myself; ” 
and John pictures that glowing consummation when He 
exclaims, ‘‘ Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to 
Him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife 
has made herself ready.” {Rev. xix^ 7.) Furthermore, in 
confirmation of an exclusively personal advent, it is written : 
“Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into Heaven? 
This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into Heaven, 
shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into 
Heaven;” “for the Lord Himself shall descend from 
Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, 
and with the trump of God.” In the same direction, 
we read: “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, 
then shall ye also appear with Him in glory;” and “we 
know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him, for 
we shall see Him as He is.” {Ads ^, 11; I Thess. iv, 
16; Col. 4; and I John Hi. 2.) Then as He is to 

appear,” “ to ‘be seen,” “ to descend Himself,” and in 
“like manner as He went,” and as Paul recognizes only one 
advent — “He shall appear the second time without sin 
unto salvation ” — we cannot resist the inference that the 
only coming known to Scripture is personal, and that He 
“who is with His people even unto the end of the world” 
is with them in spirit, and hence, when that end shall 
arrive. His manifestation must necessarily be other than 
spiritual, must be bodily and visible. {Heb. ix, 28.) 

Jesus is to come suddenly. “But of that day and hour 
knoweth no man;” “as the days of Noah were, so shall 
also the coming of the Son of Man be.” “For as in the 
days before the flood, they were eating and drinking and 
marrying,” “so shall also the coming of the Son of Man 
be.” “Watch, therefore, for ye know not what hour your 
Lord doth come.” “It is not for you to know the times 


434 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


and the seasons;” “what I say unto you I say unto all — 
‘Watch!’” “for as the lightning cometh out of the 
East and shineth even unto the West, so shall also the 
coming of the Son of Man be.” [3fatt. xxiv; Acts ^.) 
Here we have a contrast between His first advent and His 
second. He came as a babe, feebly, unobtrusively and 
gently; He entered on his public ministry unostenta- 
tiously and meekly, and he ended His career obscurely, 
unnoticed by the world and unappreciated by the Church. 
So far as earth is concerned, a company of shepherds, a 
few wise men and several devout persons were the only 
ones who knew of His birth, a vague rumor of it merely 
reaching the ears of royal Herod, and he and they had 
almost forgotten it befpre the infant Jesus had grown to 
be a man. Outside of Judea He was hardly known at the 
time of His death, and the Kingdom which He founded 
had to struggle slowly into prominence. But not thus 
shall be His second coming. Then shall He burst upon 
an apathetic and drowsy world with a grandeur surpass- 
ing the brightness of suns and with a footfall drowning 
the reverberation of thunders. He who once dawned on 
mankind as silently and gradually as the morning shall at 
last break forth, as suddenly and swiftly as lightnings that 
gleam and flash from sky to sky. Hence the Apostle 
writes: “Yourselves know perfectly that the day of the 

Lord so cometh as a thief in the night; for when they 
shall say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh 
upon them.” “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that 
that day should overtake you as a thief.” (Z Thess. v, 3-Jf.) 

That there is to be an era of absolute perfection, prior to 
the Lord’s advent and immediately preceding it, seems to be 
at variance with these representations. Were a thousand 
years of sinless blessedness to be enjoyed before the occur- 
rence of this stupendous event, siireL the generation living 
near the close would be full of expectation. The very fact 


THE MILLENNIUM. 


435 


of this period being so radically different from what had been 
witnessed in former times would arouse the saints to the 
near approach of the final catastrophe. Neither does it 
relieve matters to argue that as this gracious season ter- 
minates there shall be a terrible revival of wickedness, and 
that to the people thus demoralized and defiant the appear- 
ing of Christ will be unexpected ; for it is the peculiarity of 
this theory that His personal coming is indispensable to the 
inauguration of the reign of righteousness, and the nations 
could not therefore be surprised at what had already taken 
place. If He must come to begin the thousand years of 
holiness and peace, and if His presence, as is claimed, is 
necessary to their continuance, then as He will be already 
here, in no sense can He be supposed to come at the end 
“ as a thief in the night.” This is the great difficulty that 
confronts the pre-Millenarians. How can that be unexpected 
when it is already an accomplished fact? And the equal 
difficulty lies against the post-Millenarian hypothesis that 
the people living in the twilight of the golden era, and 
who must be conversant with its exceptional character and 
its significance as a stage in the progress of redemption, 
should be unaware of the momentous sequel its decline 
foretokens and be unprepared for its startling revelations. 
May it not be that both the theories are seriously at fault? 

Who is there that can speak clearly and with certaint}’ on 
that vexed hope of the Church — the Millennium — a word 
not even found in the Bible, and a doctrine that depends for 
its most coherent statement on a passage surcharged with 
imagery in a book whose language is highly colored and 
symbolic, requiring a special Apocalyptic vocabulary for its 
interpretation? I do not think it wise or safe to insist on 
views regarding the course and climax of the present gospel 
dispensation that are primarily and mainly built on the 
doubtful phraseology of mysticism, even admitting it to be 
inspired. And unquestionably we cannot be sufficiently sure 


436 


JESUS THE WORLD S SAVIOR. 


of the meaning of the xxth of Revelation to dogmatize, nor 
sure enough to warrant us in making it the principal and 
determining Scripture in a system of eschatology. Such 
passages or texts have their value, but it does not lie in the 
direction of definition, formulation, or of exact and literal 
statement. I am not even quite persuaded that this disputed 
chapter has for its main subject the portrayal of righteous- 
ness reigning in blessedness. While this idea is not absent 
from the vision, it seems to me there is something else more 
prominent, and for the presentation of which the picture was 
painted. 

It ought to be borne in mind by students that in the 
previous portions of John’s famously enigmatical volume he 
brings before us the three mighty and determined antagonists 
of the Church, that triumvirate of wickedness, the devil, — 
sometimes called the dragon or Satan, — and the beast, and 
the false prophet. The book is dev^oted largely to accounts 
of their schemes, exploits, apparent successes, and final 
defeat. In chapter xix we have presented the death throes 
and the awTul doom of two of these enemies. Therein judg- 
ment is revealed as overtaking and overwhelming the false 
prophet and the beast. But has the third and the principal 
figure in the confederacy of iniquity escaped? Not at all; 
only the description of his humiliation, of his futile hatred 
of the saints, and of his ultimate suppression is deferred to 
the xxth chapter. There his fate, after a despei-ate and 
inglorious struggle, is vividly depicted. And it is this over- 
throw of Satati which, in my opinion, constitutes the real 
theme of the first ten verses of the chapter, and not the 
happiness, terrestrial or celestial, of the redeemed. So far 
is the latter from being the culminating point of the vision, 
it is only introduced as a necessary background of light to a 
scene devoted to an entirely different subject. It is of 
course impossible within the limits of a few pages to give an 
adequate exposition of this perplexing Scripture, and it is 


THK OVEIITHKOW OF SATAN. 


437 


more than questionable whether in any number of pages one 
eould be prepared that would be free from objections, nor 
does it come within the scope of this volume to discuss it 
with anything like thoroughness. Indeed, I have onl}^ called 
attention to it for the purpose of challenging the correctness 
of current discussions of last things regarding the precise 
time of our Lord’s advent. One school insists that He shall 
come before the Millennium, and the other that He shall 
appear after the Millennium ; and I simply raise the pre- 
vious question as to whether there shall be any Millennium 
at all in the sense in which the term is used by these dis- 
putants. I claim that the intervention of such a golden era 
between the close of time and the dawning of eternity, a 
conception born very largely of poetic piety imbued with 
legends of antiquity, cannot be proven conclusively by the 
first ten verses of the xxth of Revelation^ from which such 
conception, it is alleged, derives its authority, as the saints 
are spoken of there no differently than they usually are in 
other portions of the New Testament, and as the purport of 
the whole seems to be the disclosure of Divine supremacy in 
guarding the saints, in shielding the good and true from the 
assaults of the devil, and preeminently in bringing to shame 
and confusion this arch-foe of God and man. I am strongly 
of the opinion that there is no Millennium at all other than 
the Christian dispensation, and that during its continuance, 
however appearance may be against the belief, the Church 
has been miraculously preserved from the attacks of all 
adversaries, that religious ideas and the principles ot right 
and justice have exerted a wide and an almost dominant 
influence on the course of civilization, that the children of 
God have been reigning, though often unrecognized, as 
kings and priests, even as our Lord Himself has been ruling, 
though unseen, in the affairs of men and nations, and that in 
the end He will demonstrate that evil is an intruder and has 
no perpetual place in the universe. All things, I claim, tend 


438 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


toward this glorious result, to the special heralding of w’nieh 
John records his vision. To me, therefore, the present reign 
of Christ by His Spirit on the earth is the only Millennium 
the world will ever know, if we may venture to apply this 
word — which simply denotes “time,” “a thousand years” 
— to the description of a state or condition. I am not 
asserting that the present is an ideal state, neither am I 
denying the need that exists for manifold improvements ; 
^only that these are the earlier stages in the fulfillment of pre- 
dictions regarding the benignant sway of Messiah, and that 
these mark an immeasurable advance beyond what was 
known in the pagan world of purity, piety, peace, and pros- 
perity, and that these are preparing the way for the personal 
coming of Him who shall subdue all enemies under His feet 
and bring in the everlasting and glorious consummation. 

It is to be remembered that Jesus and His followers speak 
of the Gospel Age as continuing — continuing in its evange- 
listic efforts, and, alas ! with its mixture of good and evil, up 
to the hour of supreme catastrophe and of final revelation. 
The wheat and the tares are to grow together until the har- 
vest, and the harvest is the end of the world, when the final 
separation is to take place. {Matt, xiii, 87-43.) Evidently, 
if this is the distinguishing feature of the dispensation that 
now is, there is no opportunity anywhere for an intercalary 
season in which saints and saintly things shall abide apart 
by themselves, and other kinds of persons and things abide 
likewise in rigid exclusiveness. Christianity is to be propa- 
gated in all lands and under all skies ; it is to obtain mar- 
velous and extensive conquests, to modify institutions and 
elevate communities, and even to demonstrate its ethical 
and moral supremacy over heathenism ; but sin is not to be 
entirely subdued nor the enemies of truth be overthrown 
until He shall come to rule wdiose right it is. An apostle, 
writing of the “Mystery of Iniquity,” whatever that may 
mean, declares that it shall be destroyed by “ the bright- 


THE COMING TIME. 


439 


ness” of the Lord’s appearing. (2 Thess. ii, 7, 8.) John, 
who gives a history of the harlot “Babylon,” whatever 
s^’steni of abomination that term may denote, and who 
assigns her origin and career to the days of the present 
dispensation, connects with her ultimate ruin the descent of 
Him “ who hath on His thigh and vestment a name written. 
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords ; and, doubtless, refer- 
ring to the same organized form of wickedness, Daniel says, 
“ I beheld, and the horn made war with the saints and pre- 
vailed agaiust them, until the Ancient of Days came, and 
Judgment was given to the saints of the Most High.” 
{Hev. xix; Dan. vii.) Thus, the existing Christian econ- 
omy, and it is to that these passages apply, will be disturbed 
by apostate powers, corrupt parties, and by manifold malefi- 
cent influences, until they are violently ended. The course 
of events leading to this crisis of deliverance seems to be 
substantially as follows : The Gospel shall be preached to 
all nations, and many communities be brought to its light, 
while civilization everywhere, as now in England and 
America, shall feel its humanizing touch and take on in 
some degree its characteristics ; and there shall be extraor- 
dinary advances made, in arts, sciences, intelligence, and 
general wealth, so that the refinement and culture of this 
century shall be to the more highly favored future times as 
semi-barbarous. Idols shall be cast down and pagan tem- 
ples be abandoned, and race prejudice shall cease; and the 
combinations of the poor to resist the insolence of the rich, 
and the combinations of the rich to rob the poor of their 
earnings, and the assaults of political corruption against 
liberty, shall survive onl3’ as dark memories of these our 
darker days. But sin shall not have ceased in the earth. 
Side by side with evangelical progress subtle iniquities shall 
exist and shall taint and debilitate the body politic ; and 
then, towards the end, many shall fall away from their 
decorous but empty profession of religion, and heresies, 


440 


JESUS THE would’ S SAVIOR. 


aguosticism, atheism, frenetic theosophies, shall startle and 
demoralize society. Schemes of social equality, regener- 
ation, and happiness, which up to a certain point justified 
the hopes of their authors, shall suddenly come to naught 
through the imcured ambitions, rivalries, and discontent of 
humanity. And then, when the world is dazzled by material 
splendors and triumphs, and when Christianity has practi- 
cally ceased to be an aggressive and conquering heroism and 
has largely fallen a prey to conventionalities ; then, when 
it shall be “ neither day nor night,” in the midst of wild 
abuses, silly congratulations, and alarming recklessness, and 
while a wide-spread and startling revolt is shaping itself 
against the Church, and prophets are idly speculating about 
a Millennium that was never promised and can never be, — 
then suddenly, unexpectedly, the sign of the Son of Man 
shall be seen in the heavens, and His visible presence shall 
forever end all shallow illusions and terrible conflicts. 
Blessed be His holy name! “At evening time it shall be 
light I ” 

Jesus is to come gloriously : in the glory of His Father, 
in the glory of the angels, and in His own glory shall He 
descend “ to be glorified in His saints and to be admired in 
all them that believe.” {Matt, xxv, 31; xxiVySO; 2 Thess. 
li, 10.) All the glory of the universe is His, the glory of 
Godhood, the glory of angelhood, and the glory of manhood, 
and invested therewith shall He appear to receive the ador- 
ing homage of His people. We have seen Him rise from the 
dead, we have seen Him ascend into Heaven, and we have 
heard of His priestly reign at the rigiit hand of the Majesty 
on Higii ; and now we learn that in the place where He was 
shamed, derided, and dishonored, and where He was counted 
unworthy to live. His real grandeur shall be recognized, and 
His name be exalted above every name. Thus the little one 
becomes a thousand ; thus the Star of Bethlehem expands 
into the Sun of Righteousness ; and thus He who obtained 


EXTENT OF THE CURSE. 


441 


when first on earth the service of a few lowly men and 
women shall at last sit upon a throne “like fiery flame,” 
and “thousand thousands ” and “ten thousand times ten 
thousand ” shall stand before Him aud minister unto Him. 
{Dan. vu, 10.) Then shall His Divinity be manifest in the 
authority He exercises, for He shall judge the w^orld ; in the 
power He exerts, for He shall raise the dead and renew 
the physical order; and in the worship He receives, for’ 
“ every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is 
Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” {Phil, w, 11.) Is 
it not written: “The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from 
Heaven with His mighty angels iu flaming fire, taking ven- 
geance on them that know not God, aud that obey not the 
Gospel” ; for “ we shall all stand before the judgment seat 
of Christ”; “ I am the resurrection and the life” ; “ Death 
is swallowed up in victory”; and “Behold I create new 
heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remem- 
bered nor come into mind,” “ but the heavens and the earth 
which are now kept in store by the same word are reserved 
unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of 
ungodly men”? {2 Thess. 8; Rom. xiv, 10; John xi, 
85 ; 1 Cor. xv; Isa. Ixv, 17, 20 ; 2 Pet. Hi, 7.) 

This, we feel, is as it should be. Not only should His 
glory be completely vindicated here, but His gracious work 
should likewise here be completely triumphant. And this 
the righteous future has in store, both for Him and us. As 
far as the curse of sin extends, so far shall His redemption 
reach. By it was the body, as well as the soul, debased, 
polluted, and sentenced to death ; but death shall be rebuked, 
and then “ this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and 
this mortal shall put on immortality.” Earth was torn by 
iniquity from her fellowship with hoh" worlds, and “ gave 
signs of woe in all her works that all was lost.” She became 
the arena of unhallowed strife ; she became the Aceldama, 
or field of blood, of the universe ; the Marah, or place of 


442 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


bitterness ; the Bochim, or place of weeping. Right is it 
that she should be restored, and restored she shall be ; “ for 
the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage 
of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of 
God.” And when the regeneration of the physical order 
shall be wrought and perfected, she who housed a brood of 
evil-doers shall receive to her bosom the host of the re- 
deemed, and God’s primal purpose, contemplated with the 
very dawning of cosmos, shall be accomplished. The Ger- 
man poet and philosopher, Goethe, encourages this expecta- 
tion in his own fascinating way where he writes: “ When I 
stand all alone at night in open nature, I feel as though 
nature were a spirit, and begged redemption of me. . . . 
Often, often have I had the sensation as if nature, in 
wailing sadness, entreated something of me ; so that not to 
understand what she longed for, has cut me to the very 
heart.” But her Lord understands her, and shall bring to 
her large and glorious emancipation. 

“ It is not, then, a poet’s dream. 

An idle vaunt of song ; 

Such as beneath the moon’s soft gleam 
On vacant fancies throng. 

Which bids us see, in heaven and earth, 

In all fair things around. 

Strong yearnings for a blest new birth 
With sunless glories crowned.” 

No ; not a dream, but a precious reality, and when it is 
brought to pass man “shall be crowned with glory and 
honor.” He was made in God’s image to live on earth, 
then part of the heavenly universe, and empowered to have 
dominion over all things. Sin interrupted and thwarted the 
perfect execution of this design. But sin cannot ultimately 
prevail. Through Christ its malignancy has already been 
checked and its guiltiness met by an atonement ; and when 
the final victory shall be complete, it shall be exterminated 


THE FINAL VICTORY. 


443 


from the renewed and purified heritage of the saved, and 
then shall the ransomed return with everlasting songs, and 
shall take up their abode in the home that was appointed 
them from the beginning. 

On that day the solemn mysteries of human existence 
shall become transparent ; and it shall be seen that wick- 
edness, suffering, misery, and decay were only transient 
though terrible shadows on the world. In the nature of 
things it shall be made apparent that the battle between evil 
and good could not be a drawn battle, and could not but be 
decided against the former. Lotze, the philosopher, has 
expressed this belief : “ The totality of all that has value — 
all that is perfect, fair, and good — cannot possibly be home- 
less in the world or in the realm of actuality, but has the 
very best claim to be regarded by us as imperishable 
reality.” And Walt Whitman echoes these sentiments in a 
passage where he says, “Roaming in thought over the 
universe, I saw the little that is good steadily hastening 
towards immortality, and the vast all that is called evil I 
saw hastening to merge itself and become lost and dead.” 
These wu-iters have warrant for their hopes. The curse they 
observe conspicuous and defiant to-day, to-morrow shall be 
extirpated, stamped out, obliterated ; and as it perishes 
from the face of the world it will be realized that, while it 
was not a form of good nor a necessary stage in moral 
development, it was made by the Almighty tributary to the 
consummation of His high designs and was graciously 
overruled by Him for the advancement of truth and right- 
eousness. 

“ Oh yet we trust that somehow good 
Will be the final goal of ill, 

To pangs of nature, sins of will. 

Defects of doubt, and taints of blood ; 

“ That nothing walks with aimless feet ; 

That not one life shall be destroy’d. 

Or cast as rubbish to the void. 

When God hath made the pile complete.” 


444 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


Such in the main must ever be the Christian’s trust, though 
Tennyson in expressing it may have transcended the limit 
of prudent statement. But well ma}’ he be pardoned. The 
justice of the essential thought of his verse — the present 
subordination of evil to good, and the final victory of good 
over evil — may well excuse any infelicities and inaccuracies 
in details. Broadl}’ he voices the hopes of the weary ages ; 
and, as we have seen, the future of Jesus is to be preemi- 
nently distinguished by their fulfillment. And in this way 
shall the humiliation and sufferings of our Lord have a 
fitting outcome, and “ the reconciliation of all things” fore- 
told by the apostle be accomplished. Then shall the curtain 
of time fall on the tragedy of human history. And then — 
what then? Eternity! “ Thy throne, O God! is for ever 
and ever!” “Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an 
everlasting salvation.” “And God shall wipe away all 
tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no more death, 
neither sori’ow nor crying, neither shall there be any more 
pain ; for the former things are passed a'w'a3^” 

“And earth shall live again, and, like her sons. 

Have resurrection to a better being ; 

And waken, like a bride, or like a morning, 

With a long blush of love, to a new life.” 

Eternity ! but the full import of that tremendous word we 
cannot penetrate ; for how can the finite comprehend the 
infinite, or the mind that cannot conceive of time, however 
indefinitely prolonged, without thinking of a beginning and 
an ending, picture to itself the real significance of the 
timeless ages ? The thought is too high for mortals ; we 
cannot attain unto it. What that solemn word “ eternity” 
stands for is hidden by a veil which hands destined to be 
dust cannot draw aside ; but 'the beauteous shadows that 
move behind it, dim outlines of nameless perfection, and 
the gleams of light that flash through its rents, assure us 


THE LAKHEK HOPE. 


445 


that at least eternit}’ denotes unbounded progress, increasing 
love and friendship, and undying peace and blessedness. 

What more it may mean we cannot tell. Sometimes in 
the stillness of the night, when mystic calm and sacred soli- 
tude seem to impart to spiritual vision a wider and clearer 
range, and when we appear to come nearer the Father than 
at other seasons and under other circumstances, we think 
we see, at least I have thought that I have seen, the entire 
unbroken company of those who bore in time the name of 
man, abiding in peace and endless joy. Is there “ a larger 
hope” than has usually been preached from pulpits by 
the ambassadors of Christ? There may be, but it is not 
disclosed. It is only a hope at most, it is not faith. Cer- 
tainly sin must be punished, its evil consequences are inev- 
itable, and up to the close of revelation, when the history of 
this world, as a world under bondage to iniquity, comes to 
an end, and the judgment scenes are portrayed, there is 
not a passage that unequivocally warrants belief in universal 
redemption. Even if Jesus went into Hades, as Dorner 
teaches, and preached to spirits in prison, there remains to 
offset the presumption this may create in favor of restora- 
tionism the decisive fact that there is to be a final assize, 
and that from the bar of God some are to go away into death 
everlasting. The w^ord “everlasting” may not always mean, 
as Farrar has labored to prove, time without end, ceaseless 
and exhaustless duration. It may denote, as he insists it 
sometimes does, only a prolonged and indefinite period. 
And if this is so, it may be that we have in the Bible simply 
a history of earth, of its peoples, of its Redeemer, and of the 
destiny that awaits it ; and that until its annals are closed, 
revelation is withheld regarding what may be the ultimate 
future — the future lying beyond the future — of those who, 
rejecting the Savior, were themselves rejected at the judg- 
ment from part or lot in its glory. They have no claim on 
Divine consideration, their transgressions crying out against 


446 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


them, and they may well have been left to terrible uncer- 
tainty. But may it not be, though clear intimation of such a 
thing has not been given, that the Scripture texts which 
point to the final destruction of iniquity and evil, and that 
declare grace to abound more than sin, and that match and 
apparently equal the “ all ” involved in Adam’s fall with the 
“all” comprehended in Christ’s redemption, were intended 
to leave the vague impression that the ages of eternity may 
witness a universal restoration to the favor of God? Alas ! 
the vagueness we must confess, and 3’et there are few hearts 
that do not clutch at the shadowy possibilitj' and hope, per- 
haps even against hope, for the final recovery of the lost. I 
admit that we tread here the region of hypothesis, that we 
have only “guesses” and “maybes” to build on, and that 
we can only desire and tremble, not believe and rejoice. It 
may be asked. Why speculate on this subject at all? why per- 
plex oneself with questions which only eterniCv can answer? 
Perhaps no satisfactory reply can be given ; perhaps we are 
impelled in this direction by uncontrollable circumstances. 
We are full of anxiety about the fate of the impenitent dead, 
and seek some ground for believing that they shall not 
eternally perish, because among them and journeying toward 
them are those of our own households. 

Easy, doubtless, it is to formulate and defend before 
admiring audiences the dogma of a hell which shall never 
cease ; but not so easy, yea, rather not possible at all, to 
perform the same feat, or deliberately to avow in solitude 
this faith when the lifeless body of a brother or son, whose 
career has been wayward, is laid at one’s feet. Then the 
sorrow of the heart drowns the logic of the head, then every 
faint encouragement is seized and magnified, and in spite of 
oneself hope builds its nest in the soul, the hope of another 
probation somewhere, and of a happier issue. Because we 
ali have sad reasons for desiring that it should be so, we 
inquire and speculate and search for some proof to convince 


THE JUDGMENT. 


447 


US that it shall be so. Doubtless there are few among us, 
however they may warn their fellow-beings against the crimi- 
nal folly of continuing in sin, who fail to entertain a shadowy 
impression that Divine grace may yet triumph over those who 
spurned its overtures during their earthly lives. 

Our longings and yearnings indicate unmistakably that we 
cannot convince ourselves of the security of the impenitent. 
The painful sense that wrong-doing arrays against itself the 
retributive forces of the universe, and that wrath is inevitable, 
accounts in no small degree for persistent and desperate 
attempts to discover a silver side to the cloud dark and 
portentous with coming vengeance. Were men satisfied 
that there is nothing to fear in God, and were they clear 
that the soul is not in peril, they would not grope in the 
dark for some faint sign of possible deliverance in the ages 
to come. It is the certainty of calamity overtaking trans- 
gression, and the apparent enormous proportions of the 
calamity, that constrain them to cry out in anguish for at 
least the meagrest token of a further and happier issue. 
These pathetic optimists are not heretics in regard to the 
overshadowing supremacy of justice. They perceive the 
inexorableness of its demands and operations ; but they 
cannot bear to abandon any of their fellow-beings to its 
crushing penalties. The dim sense of what its weight must 
be would lead them to brave the fires of hell to bring enlarge- 
ment to the doomed, even as Paul could wish himself accursed 
for the sake of Israel according to the flesh. It is the unen- 
durable depth of the despair that gives rise to the “larger 
hope” ; it is the torturing blackness of an endless night that 
prompts the passionate desire for a morning. Whether such 
expectations are altogether illusive or not, eternity will soon 
demonstrate. Then shall we understand many things we are 
not able to bear here ; and then shall we perceive, whatever 
may be the issue, that the Infinite One has never been other 
than a living, merciful Father to all His creatures, and that 


448 


JESUS THE world’s SAVIOR. 


He never has “ found pleasure in the death of him who 
dieth.” 

And, until then, it is for us to labor for the conversion and 
salvation of humanity. It is for us, as far as feasible, to 
embody in ourselves as individuals and churches the spirit 
of the mighty Galilean, who sympathized with the world in 
its extremity and offered up His life for its redemption. The 
“larger hope” without the larger work betrays the senti- 
mentalist, who does not in reality feel for men, but who is 
seeking merely a poetic excuse for not exerting himself on 
their behalf. But, however faithless he or we may be, I 
desire those whose eyes rest on these closing sentences to 
realize that Jesus is “the same yesterday, to-day, and for- 
ever.” He has not forgotten the race for which He died. 
Still He pleads, still He entreats, still He invites, saying, 
“ Come unto Me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, 
and I will give you rest.” Think of Him thus, as thus 
beseeching from the Heavens, and think of Him as Savo- 
narola thought of Him, when he ascribed to Him these 
words of tender expostulation : — 

“ Fair soul, created in the primal hour, 

Once pure and grand. 

And for whose sake I left My throne and power 
At God’s right hand. 

By this sad heart, pierced through because I loved thee. 

Let love and mercy to contrition move thee. 

“ Cast off the sins thy holy beauty veiling. 

Spirit divine ! 

V ain against thee the hosts of hell assailing : 

My strength is thine ! 

Drink from My side the cup of life immortal. 

And love will lead thee back to heaven’s portal.” 







■•1 




> 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: July 2005 


PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724) 779-2111 


T'M) \ 



